The Humane Marketing Show. A podcast for a generation of marketers who care.

This is the 2nd episode of our new series with Kerry Dobson. We loved our previous collaboration so much, that we decided to continue. This time we're talking about the Marketing Like We're Human program and giving it a little refresher. In this episode we talk about the pivotal moments of the program I've been hosting this program twice per year since 2019. It's a deep dive into the 7Ps of the Humane Marketing Mandala where you will learn to market from within. This program is for you if: you want and need to get more clients, but want to share your message in an ethical and humane way you want to make a difference with your work you are just starting out, or have been in business for a while but haven't really found the marketing activities that work for you or you are pivoting your business from 'business as usual' to 'your life's work' and want to radically change the way you get clients The next cohort starts on Feb 4th and You can find out more at https://www.humane.marketing/program In this series of conversations Kerry asks me questions about the Marketing Like We're Human program and together we give it a little make-over. Just as a refresher, Kerry is a small group specialist who focuses on creating meaningful group programs. Kerry will actually join the program as co-facilitator and infuse her long experience with making groups impactful and transformational. I'll be posting these conversations as bonus episodes, so make sure you're subscribed to the show to get notified about the following convos. And if you have any questions that you'd like us to address, you can reach out to either me or Kerry directly.

11/14/25 • 43:19

I'm kicking off another little series with Kerry Dobson. We loved our previous collaboration so much, that we decided to continue. This time we're talking about the Marketing Like We're Human program and giving it a little refresher. I've been hosting this program twice per year since 2019. It's a deep dive into the 7Ps of the Humane Marketing Mandala where you will learn to market from within. This program is for you if: you want and need to get more clients, but want to share your message in an ethical and humane way you want to make a difference with your work you are just starting out, or have been in business for a while but haven't really found the marketing activities that work for you or you are pivoting your business from 'business as usual' to 'your life's work' and want to radically change the way you get clients The next cohort starts on Feb 4th and You can find out more at humane.marketing/program In this series of conversations Kerry asks me questions about the Marketing Like We're Human program and together we give it a little make-over. Just as a refresher, Kerry is a small group specialist who focuses on creating meaningful group programs. Kerry will actually join the program as co-facilitator and infuse her long experience with making groups impactful and transformational. I'll be posting these conversations as bonus episodes, so make sure you're subscribed to the show to get notified about the following convos. And if you have any questions that you'd like us to address, you can reach out to either me or Kerry directly.

11/7/25 • 41:33

Neurodivergent Marketing is a real-talk conversation with Myriam Martinez for neurodivergent entrepreneurs who want marketing that fits their nervous system. We unpack why masking turns marketing into performance and how overload and pace create the real friction. We name the trust breakers (pain-poking, fake "live" webinars, countdown panic) and offer humane swaps: "signpost" instead of lead magnet, "people who clicked" instead of conversions, and publishing prices, totals, and time needs before any call. Expect consent-led sales calls, boundaries as care, and Neurodivergent strengths—detail, patterning, honesty, creativity—as positioning superpowers so people can choose with bodily safety, time, and agency. The outcome: a sustainable, sovereign, and humane way to market. In this episode we discussed: How many of us discover neurodivergence through our families and feel relief naming it. Why masking in life makes "performing" in marketing extra exhausting. That overload and pace are the core friction—not a mindset issue. How old marketing norms (pain-poking, fake "live" webinars, countdown panic) violate trust. Reframing jargon into human words: "lead magnet" → "signpost," "conversions" → "people who clicked." Why transparency matters: publish prices, totals, and time needs before any call. How ND strengths—detail, patterning, honesty, creativity—become positioning superpowers. That buyers need bodily safety, time, and agency to choose. Why consent-led sales calls beat scripts and simulation. Boundaries as care: limited meetings, clear hours, recovery time after stimulation. Embracing your wiring (not fixing it) reduces anxiety and increases sustainability. A hopeful future: a rising generation that won't tolerate manipulation and leads with sovereignty. Watch this episode on YouTube -- Speaker 0: miriam, it's good to have you back. welcome to the humane marketing podcast. Speaker 1: sarah, i'm so happy to be back on your podcast. Speaker 0: back in my house. right? we just yes. it's just like having a conversation in my house. yes. Speaker 1: yes. exactly. Speaker 0: yeah. so you've been on the show before, but this time we decided to talk about neurodivergent marketing, which is something that i'm super excited about and especially to talk about it with you, um, because you went through this own little transformation and awakening or how would you call it? yeah. Speaker 1: i mean, it's an awakening or rediscovery, you know, in a way of who i am, who i really am at my core, and how that impacts everything that i do. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. because we, uh, worked together a few years back. and back then, it was very much focused on women and well-being, the work that you were doing. and so tell us a little bit how that has changed over the most recent months, year. Speaker 1: yeah. so like most adults, it started with my kids' diagnoses of adhd and becoming more curious about it. you know, i'm a therapist, so i i'm i always understood the diagnosis. you know, i understood it in that way, maybe, like, in a more removed way. but once it was in my home, you know, and i was really living with it, i obviously became much more curious about it. you know? and then it turns out that, you know, my husband is adhd, and it's like, oh, look at them. they're like two peas in a pod. you know? um, and so i started doing more training around this because i wanted to be more supportive for people around this. and quickly, i started to see some traits, you know, show up for me. and for me, it's a really interesting cross between autism and adhd, which there's a term that's floating around out there called adhd. and that's not a diagnosis. right? but it just reflects that there's this cross between these two worlds sometimes. and, you know, we're learning all the time about neurodivergence, you know, and how it shows up and it's so different for everybody. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. thanks for sharing your story. and it kinda went very similarly for me. like for the longest time, we, you know, didn't know, uh, what my son was experiencing. and for i first thought, well, introvert like, back in the days, we just talked about introverts, extroverts. yep. and then all of a sudden this term hsp came up and i discovered, oh, i'm a highly sensitive person. and so i thought, oh, that's probably what he is as well. and and and then, you know, as it kept as we kept discovering more and, you know, thank god we have so much information out there now and youtube videos and all of that. it's it's so helpful. i don't know. well, i guess that's a big reason why back in the days it wasn't discovered. right? i'm pretty sure my dad is autistic, but how would he have known if if there wasn't that much content out there and diagnosis? and and so, yeah, learning it about my son that he's on the spectrum and then pretty sure my husband is too. and and so just, yeah, finding out more and more and and then working with clients who have adhd or, um, you know, our hsps, neurodivergency. and so i think i couldn't think of a better person than you to have this conversation around marketing because that's really what we worked on together as well. and, like, just i remember your expression of frustration around this thing that we call marketing and and how it just, like, your brain was, like, going against it and you're like, no. Speaker 1: in all the ways. yeah. i could not process it. Speaker 0: yeah. exactly. so if we if you maybe think back to that time, but then also just to generalize, what do you think like, why is marketing the old way of marketing? right? why is that so counterintuitive for, uh, people on the neurodivergent spectrum? why do they react like you did? whereas, like, i just don't get it. why would we do this like that? Speaker 1: right. right. no. exactly. um, it's it's multilayered. right? because when we're talking about neurodivergence, we're talking about a variety of different disorders and diagnoses. right? so that could include autism, adhd, dyslexia, dyscalculia, which is, you know, having a hard time with numbers or number concepts, dyspraxia, which is having a lot of uncoordination in your body, right, tourette's. i mean, there's such a list that falls under neurodivergence. so when we talk about these generals, i wanna make sure that i put that disclaimer out there that it's not necessarily applicable to everybody under that umbrella. but that in general, really what it comes down to is sensory overload. like, it's just too much. it's too and and then pace. it's too fast. it's too fast moving. we can't process. i mean, which which is how i started this conversation. right? i was like, i can't process this. it was too much. it was too much. you know? and what's hard when you are experiencing neurodivergence, but you don't know that that's what's happening is that you're comparing yourself to the neurotypical world, which is looking at you like, what's the big deal? yeah. i don't understand what your problem is. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: right? and so i really struggled with my self esteem around my business, for myself. like, can i even do this? because i can't do these things. i'm having a hard time. it's you know? and then you have people telling you it's a mindset issue. you know? and it's like, no. i literally can't understand this concept. right? so it's so much of it is that sensory piece, like i said, and just it's too fast and short deadlines and pressure. and it's just not something that works with the neurodivergent nervous system. we're much more sensitive than that. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. and what i experience also from, you know, when i hear back from clients is is this authenticity piece. so as we know, uh, there's a lot of masking that needs to happen for or not needs to, but is happening for neurodivergent peoples in order to fit in. right? Speaker 1: it's part of survival. Speaker 0: and yeah. exactly. and so and so it almost seems like, well, they have to wear this mask all the time to survive, to fit in. and so they are kind of, like, revolting against having to wear this mask as well in the marketing field and in the business field. it's just, like, so exhausting to to do that. Speaker 1: it's so exhausting. yeah. absolutely. and and i do think that it it's it's 10 times more exhausting when you don't know what's going on. you know? so a lot of the work that i do with adults, right, is help them see that they are probably under this umbrella. right? and we start looking at some of their behaviors, right, and their patterns. and then quickly together, we can identify, oh, yeah. it looks like maybe you're adhd or it looks like maybe you fall under autism or, you know, whatever it is. or maybe there's more than one thing going on, you know, adhd with dyslexia. right? dyscalculia is something that's, you know, relatively new in terms of, um, of a term that's used out there. right? and for me personally, i mean, i think i i'm a i i might have cried when i heard that term. you know? it was like, oh, right. so it's not that i'm dumb. it's not that i'm not a, quote, unquote, math person. like, my brain literally has a hard time processing numbers and number concepts just like a dyslexic can't see letters in the right form. it's the same. Speaker 0: yeah. and here we are, you know, in marketing, keep telling people to not the numbers so much, but the the content i'm thinking of, like, keep creating all this content. well, you know, uh, if you have dyslexia, writing and reading is definitely not part of the things that you enjoy doing. and so, again, if you compare yourself to the neurotypical people, you're you start to think, well, what's wrong with me? how can i how can how come i can't do this? Speaker 1: that's right. and then that really interferes. right? you can see how then that really starts to interfere. yeah. 100%. and for me, in marketing, there's always a lot of talk about budget. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: yeah. and then just the word sends my nervous system into a state, you know. and if you start talking to me about budgets or asking me or start talk throwing any kind of numbers at me in any way, my brain will just completely shut down. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. yeah. Speaker 1: it just won't it just won't let it in, and you'll probably see a really blank look come across my face. Speaker 0: yeah. but just or or even, like, conversion rates. right? how does that make you feel? Speaker 1: so scary. so scary. Speaker 0: yeah. it's all these metrics, like the the linear linear and kind of like Speaker 1: yeah. that's really, really Speaker 0: masculine way of of doing marketing was all based on on numbers and conversions and Speaker 1: right. Speaker 0: yeah. roi is another one of those terms. you're like, uh. Speaker 1: yeah. Speaker 0: yeah. totally. and if Speaker 1: i hadn't discovered this, i i might have given up. i might have just said, i guess this isn't for me. Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: or or i guess i'm just i can't do it or i'm not good at it. Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: right? Speaker 0: so so let's turn it around then. like yes. what kind of, you know, strengths do neurodivergent people have and can bring to this idea of business building and and marketing and and connecting and communicating, really, because that's what we're talking about. Speaker 1: yeah. i know. i love this part. this part gets me really excited, you know. but i think that, you know, again, a little mini disclaimer is that sometimes the strengths are, like, they're double edged swords. sometimes they also create stress. you know? so for example, one thing that, um, neurodivergence bring is a lot of, um, focus on detail. Speaker 0: mhmm. yeah. Speaker 1: right? and pattern recognition. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: and being able to take that information and then create a concept. you know? um, and that's amazing. that's an amazing skill, you know, when it's applied well. and and then we might focus too much on a detail. right? or go Speaker 0: down a little bit. to procrastination as well because it needs to be perfect into every detail. Speaker 1: yeah. and, you know, i wanna i wanna separate those two things because perfectionism is more under the category of anxiety. mhmm. right? and so when we're dealing with, um, neurodivergence, we we are also experiencing things like anxiety. so it becomes much more challenging, right, when we're dealing with these multiple layers at the same time. you know? but i do think that if we can keep looking at the at what the strengths are in this, you know, like, really deep focus. right? directness and honesty. you know? we don't really like small talk or anything that's not deep, essentially. right? and we'd have a hard time not being honest. Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: you know? it really becomes a moral dilemma. and so that's those are things that i think are really beautiful about, um, people under the narrow neurodivergent umbrella. right? there's also the creativity Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: and out of the box thinking. Speaker 0: yeah. very much so. mhmm. and i think that's what you really played into it. right? it's like because you have that creative part of yourself and you've figured out how do i bring that to my marketing. i remember back in the days when you used to follow, you know, the these, um, kind of templates of creating canva visuals. yeah. it just all looks the same. let's be honest. right? Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. Speaker 0: and then all of a sudden you started to bring in your art and, you know, more of your pictures and you could tell, wow, she's really having fun with this. and that's the that's the creative side. um, yeah. so much Speaker 1: so for me, i have to change some of the terms. right? and and it kinda maybe speaks to, like, how we market to neurodivergent folk. you know? because if you use the word conversion rate, then my heart rate goes up, and i'm gonna have a shutdown. right? but if you say, how many people, right, or this many people clicked on your site, and then this is what happened after that, then i got it. i can totally follow that pattern. right? so it's again, sometimes the wording, sometimes, uh, too much of a relationship to mathematical concepts or overwhelm, overload. right? that kind of a thing. Speaker 0: basically, concepts that society accepted as being marketing concepts and ideas. Speaker 1: mhmm. Speaker 0: and that you are like, who said that was a concept? like, explain it to me what that means in in, like, full sentences. Speaker 1: yeah. which is very much a lot in the autism range. yeah. you know, like, we really want to know the detail. how did we get there? i really wanna understand the the process. right. right. and then i can really integrate the information. Speaker 0: right. yeah. i get it. yeah. yeah. what i noticed myself doing a lot, um, on the blog is taking some of these old paradigm terms, uh, from marketing, like lead magnet. right? most people have heard of lead magnets. but what does that even mean? like, it's such a weird kind of term where we're sucking people in with a magnet. and so turning that into signposts where we are guiding people to to make a a buying decision, for example, or to come into our world. but i find that i need to use the old word and then juxtaposition it to the new words so that, you know, i can help make that that journey over the bridge, like, to to help people understand, yeah, this is maybe what you've heard, but it doesn't feel good. and so here's an alternative. here's a different word for it. Speaker 1: mhmm. mhmm. Speaker 0: so, uh, i i hear from you that that's helpful. right? like, coming up with new language around marketing that what and then prompts our nervous system as well. Speaker 1: that's right. and so much of the self care is, like, being able to notice that something does create agitation for you. right? and rather than question it or put yourself down for it, it's like, okay. it's just that my nervous system is not liking this for some reason. let's see what what i can do about that. right? Speaker 0: right. Speaker 1: yeah. Speaker 0: yeah. like, what other things that you have experienced in in business? like, let's think about sales, for example, uh, where you feel like there's been a certain norm. again, these norms. right? that, uh, neurodivergent people are like, i don't get these norms. like but there are some kind of norms. like, let's take a a sales call, uh, that feels very scripted, uh, where you are on the call and you you can cut you've like, what my son always says, he's like, feels like we're in a simulation. not necessarily in a sales call, but i'm sure he would say that if the person just kinda goes blah blah blah through the sales script. and you're like, is he even talking to me? like, is this is this for real? like yeah. Speaker 1: do you Speaker 0: have any other kind of business concept things that you feel like, yeah, that's just not for neurodivergent people. Speaker 1: oh, yeah. i mean, let's start with the scarcity countdowns. Speaker 0: uh, yeah. yeah. Speaker 1: right? what my body does with that is it shuts down. Speaker 0: creates so much anxiety. right? Speaker 1: yeah. absolutely. you know? and for some people, it it it will work, so to speak, you know, quote, unquote. it will create such stress in someone that they'll that they'll buy the the coaching package or, you know, whatever it is. but that's kinda icky. right? and it's the opposite of humane marketing. so that those kinds of things, you know, are not for the neurodivergent. i don't think they're for anybody, but that's my personal opinion. you know? yeah. Speaker 0: my opinion too. Speaker 1: that's why we're here. yeah. right? Speaker 0: another example that comes to mind i don't know if that is still happening, uh, out there. but back in the days, they would have these webinars, huge webinars with tons of people only in the chat. and then they would pretend it's live where it's actually not live. and i would, like, wanted to scream and say, Speaker 1: can't you Speaker 0: guys see that it's not live? like, we know. we're not stupid. we're we know this is not live. yeah. and and yeah. like, i i really just think the bs, uh, meter for neurodivergent people is is, you know, on a different level. Speaker 1: tolerance for it. Speaker 0: zero tolerance for Speaker 1: for and we can smell it from a mile away. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. you know? and there's that transparency and truth telling. right? Speaker 1: yeah. 100%. Speaker 0: 100%. Speaker 1: and so i think that for, uh, neurodivergent folks, like, when they're in business and they're trying to, you know, work on their marketing and their sales, everything about their business just needs to feel safe, you know, in their body. and if it feels a little icky or if it's there's something there, it's like it's really an an invitation to pause and check out what that might be about because you might be going down the path that is not gonna work for you. Speaker 0: yeah. mhmm. like, right now, we were talking about from the marketing perspective, and then there's also from the buying perspective. and that's what you were addressing. it's like, how do i want to buy? how that how does it how should it feel in my body, uh, to to want to buy something and make a, you know, a a buying decision? i think what we're addressing is obviously the healed neurodivergent person. and what i'm seeing out there is is kind of this manipulation of the not of the non healed neurodivergent people where there's even more stress applied. and you you kind of mentioned that as well. right? and so they're buying out of anxiety. Speaker 1: that's right. Speaker 0: um, but then if you are the healed neurodivergent person, how how is that an integrity with what you're actually selling? right? yeah. Speaker 1: uh, to be honest, i don't even know what that means because neurodivergence is not something you heal or fix. Speaker 0: true. um, i guess it's just knowing having looked at it. like, would you say that someone who knows so whether it's an official diagnosis or just, you know, having looked at it more deeply, are they more able to deal with this anxiety because they Speaker 1: i mean, it's very it's often very relieving for people. i mean, especially for the adults i work with. right? because most of us have grown up thinking that we're we're not smart or not good enough or, you know, we're dumb at math or, you know, whatever it is. like, all these stories because you were not operating in the same way as other people. so oftentimes, when i work with clients and we move into this looks like a possible diagnosis for you, there's a lot of relief. there's a lot of like, oh, is that why that was so hard? or is that why i couldn't read? or is that why math is hard? or is that why socializing exhausts me? or, you know, whatever it is, it's like it becomes like this unraveling. right? and there's a lot of, you know, there's emotion to that. there's grief and, you know, that kind of a thing. but, you know, once you really embrace, like, this is who i am and you learn to work with your particular flavor, right, of neurodivergence, i i think that you can be very successful at just about anything. i don't, you know, i don't see why i should stand in your way. Speaker 0: and i guess that's what i meant by healed. you know? you just, like, learn who you truly are. and i think that's when you start to say no even more to the things that are not aligned with you. where before, like, what i'm seeing with my son, it's like, well, the pressure from the neuro normal side of the world is so hard that, you know, there's there's more push to know to just have to do what everybody else is doing, and then the anxiety, of course, goes up. and so if if i take this to the marketing thing, it's like, if you have not yet figured out truly who you are and and, you know, really stand with with that, then there's a big risk that you are feeling this anxiety every time you're being sold to or have to market. mhmm. so i guess that's where that pivot is. it's like, no. i'm not taking it anymore. i'm doing marketing my way, or i'm not buying from people who are trying to manipulate me and, you know, push me into scarcity and stuff thing things like that. Speaker 1: absolutely. manipulate me in any way. you know? i mean, one of the things that in general is kinda scary about the coaching world specifically is that it's it's so much based on pain point marketing, you know, and tapping into people's anxiety or stress or whatever it is that's going on and offering some kind of quick fix. Speaker 0: you know? Speaker 1: and it's like it's so unethical when it's so wrong because that's not the way human beings work. Speaker 0: no. yeah. totally. Speaker 1: no? yeah. Speaker 0: yeah. talking about this this coaching world, um, and and these pain points, that's another one of these words that need a a reframe. right? Speaker 1: absolutely. Speaker 0: because, yeah, that's what the old marketing is based on. it's like, let's make the pain points so bad. uh, you know, let's make you feel so shitty that you have to buy my solution. yeah. Speaker 1: it's like it's like it's like pouncing on a little innocent animal or something. you know, that's how how it feels for me. yeah. you know? yeah. no. absolutely not. terrible. Speaker 0: another thing is the the pricing, uh, discussion. yeah. and i think there is also this really need for transparency. can you speak to that? Speaker 1: 100%. that is absolutely necessary. you know, it's kinda what i was saying before even for myself. it's like, i want to know all of the data. Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: and i want to know that, like, for myself on my own terms so that i can process it on my own. right? so if somebody doesn't have any pricing on their website, i will likely not work with them. Speaker 0: mhmm. yeah. Speaker 1: because i need that information upfront. otherwise, i will feel a little anxiety maybe, you know, about the possibility that if i get on a call with you, you might do some of these unethical things or things that just don't work for me and my body. right? like, now you're gonna talk about pricing, and now i have to do it right now, and i'm gonna get all anxious and Speaker 0: no. yeah. Speaker 1: i'm i'm very clear about that part. so, yes, for i think for neurodivergent folks, we want we want all of the information, as much information as you can give us, and then we can make our decision. Speaker 0: yeah. and give me time to make this. Speaker 1: need time. that's right. i don't need pressure. none of that will work. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. yeah. Speaker 1: none of that will work. Speaker 0: yeah. in in a way, to me, neurodivergent people are, like, super smart, very conscious human beings. and the old way of marketing is taking people for stupid, really. it's like, oh, i can, you know, trick and sleaze you and you will never notice what i'm doing. and neurodivergent people are like, no, i'm not having this at all. Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. yeah. that book is awesome. it's a superpower. Speaker 0: yeah, it really is. and in a way, you know, there's to me, there's no surprise that we're seeing more and more neurodivergency because we're really heading into this time of of of sovereignty of each individual being very, very individual, very authentic and very sovereign and and like showing up with that sovereignty and and, yeah, being able to make our own decisions, not just for buying stuff, but for for everything. and i think that's a very yeah. it's a beautiful vision of the world to to think of humans like that. Speaker 1: mhmm. no. i agree. meeting each other on that place. right? Speaker 0: yeah, exactly. and having sales conversations in that kind of, um, yeah, with with that basis is a completely different thing than, like i, uh, mentioned before where, you know, i just read a script and don't even care, you know, if we've talked before or whatever. so right. it's just Speaker 1: or i look at you like dollar signs. Speaker 0: oh, yeah. yeah. that's another one. right? Speaker 1: and it's like, i i can't i can't do that. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. Speaker 1: i just, like, i physically can't do that. i have to look at you as a person, you know, and and just show you what i have and then give you that agency, you know, to decide whether this is the right fit for you. Speaker 0: yeah. mhmm. yeah. sovereignty, agency, beautiful words. Speaker 1: mhmm. yes. yeah. so no pressure, you know, from me. Speaker 0: yeah. what about, you know, other boundaries that you have learned to set for yourself as an entrepreneur, as a marketer, maybe, but but just, yeah, finding that inner peace and being being able to keep showing up without anxiety? Speaker 1: yeah. well, i mean, i think that it could kinda goes back to what i was saying before. right? that to me, the word that comes up is embrace. right? it's not fixed. it's embrace. embrace that this is how your nervous system is wired. right? this is how you were born, and this is how you operate in the world. right? because when we resist, right, it creates tension and stress and anxiety. and i know that's not easy and it takes time, but i think that that's, you know, step one is accept that this is who you are. right? except that, you know, for me, it's like, oh, i don't really want a lot of loud noises or i have to be careful about how much time i spend in group environments or, you know, how much time am i spending in front of my computer or how much time am i spending outside. it's like all of these things around my sensory stuff, my particular version of it and what that looks like for me. but i think that having a lot of boundaries is really important because we need so much more time to recover yeah. of things. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. Speaker 1: mhmm. and giving yourself permission to do that. this this is literally a physical thing that is happening to you. and if you push your body past that, that typically doesn't go well. creates more stress. you know? Speaker 0: exactly. it's creating that spaciousness, uh, for you to be human because you are, yeah, a unique human being who has unique needs. yeah. and that's the whole Speaker 1: and you yeah. and you are the only one that can decide, like, what your level of care needs to be. yeah. you're the only one convinced by that. you know? what are your office hours? when do you respond? you know? what are your boundaries with people in your business? what are your boundaries with yourself? Speaker 0: yeah. it actually starts with yourself because otherwise, you're not walking your dog. Speaker 1: right? exactly. exactly. but i think that's the best way that we can, you know, take care of ourselves. and and sometimes we have to, you know, kinda like what your son was saying, it's really hard because sometimes we have to explain these things to people. you know? like, because somebody might look at me and go, but what's the big deal about another evening meeting this week? Speaker 0: yeah. i get that all the time. Speaker 1: yeah. and it's like, well, basically, my head feels like it's gonna explode. Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: so that's a no for me. Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: right? in my body, i do not feel the capacity, the energy at all to do it. yeah. and i will pay a consequence for that. i might, like, be out for a couple days just laying laying around, staring at a wall or something. mhmm. mhmm. just to recover. like, less of, uh, decreasing my stimulation just to be able to recover from overdoing, overstimulating myself. yeah. Speaker 0: let's wrap up with something like positive, a positive outlook on how yeah. the world would look differently if we had all this humane marketing led by neurodivergent people. Speaker 1: that sounds great. businesses according Speaker 0: to the new rules by neurodivergent people. that would not feel look like. Speaker 1: uh, that just makes my heart sore, you know, just to imagine that, you know, because if sensitive people around the world right? and if if our skill set of thinking things through slowing down, you know, really taking the time to make a decision, you know, an informed decision that's rooted in, like, how it feels for you, like, my goodness. the the the possibilities are endless of how the world could change. Speaker 0: it's so different. right? Speaker 1: and i do think that, you know, what gives me hope, you know, in the present is that this next generation of kids and young people have all of this information at their disposal. so my hope, right, is that this generation can grow up not feeling like they're dumb or like there's something wrong with them, that they'll just own that as part of who they are from the very beginning. right? which is the opposite of what i see with so many adults. Speaker 0: you know? Speaker 1: so many of the adults i work with, and we're talking ceos. we're talking big people that are like, oh my goodness. is this what's been going on all this time? you know? but they grew up feeling less than or feeling like they had to mask or feeling like they had to work 10 times harder than everybody else, you know, push themselves. you know? that's just thing. and and they're really feeling the consequence of that Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: in their bodies, in their lives. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: so that's one thing that gives me hope, you know, is that this new generation, it's like, wow. you guys have all of that in your little hands. that's amazing. Speaker 0: yeah. and, also, like, they're just not having it. they're like they look at us, see what we created, and they're like, i'm not having that, that, that. Speaker 1: so why would i do that? Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. like you said, that that gives us lots of hope. yeah. Speaker 1: because there's much more permission. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. well, i think we need to continue this conversation in episode two around just kinda like today, we talked a lot about marketing. maybe we can just talk about entrepreneurship for neurodivergent people because there's a lot of, um, people out there who are, you know, really bringing these new concepts, new ideas. and i think it'd be interesting to continue the conversation. Speaker 1: i think it's actually a really important conversation to have. Speaker 0: yeah. well, for now, why don't you share with people how you work with them, where they can find you, and all of that? Speaker 1: yeah. so, you know, i work both with individuals and groups and organizations. right? so with individuals, it's about, you know, understanding their neurodivergency and if there's any, you know, obstacles related to that, like feeling less than, feeling not good enough, feeling like you have to over perform, you know, whatever the behavior is that, um, interferes, we really look at that and address that so that people can live with, you know, ideally less stress and just feeling better in general about life, you know. and with groups and organizations, i really love to bring in the inclusion component of having neurodivergent folk in your organization because one in four people falls under the neurodivergent umbrella. that's a lot of people. yeah. right? so if you're looking at your organization and and it's hard because it shows up as communication issues a lot of the time or, you know, things that look like performance issues in in an organizational environment when really this person is just struggling with some kind of neurodivergence. and when that's addressed, then they can go they can become a peak performer employee just like everybody else. yeah. yeah. people can find me on my website. they can look for me on linkedin. i'm also on instagram. you know? so and please and Speaker 0: your website is myriammartinezcocoaching.com. correct? Speaker 1: it is. yes. thank you. mhmm. and, yeah, please don't hesitate to reach out around any anything related to neurodivergent. Speaker 0: wonderful. well, to be continued. yeah. thanks so much for, yeah, sharing this. it was amazing. Speaker 1: thank you, sarah.

11/3/25 • 45:26

In this episode of The Humane Marketing Podcast, I sit down with Sinead Rafferty to explore what leadership looks like for empaths and highly sensitive people in today's fast and complex world. We talk about why empathy is a vital strength in leadership, how the old myths of authority and "loud voices" are giving way to more human-centered approaches, and what unique gifts empaths bring to the table. Sinead also shares the inspiration behind the Empathic Leadership Summit and how themes like self-leadership, professional leadership, and purposeful leadership weave together. If you've ever doubted whether you're a leader, this conversation will help you see leadership through a more humane, grounded, and empowering lens. In this episode we discussed: What leadership means today, in a world that feels so fast, complex, and often overwhelming Why empathy is such a vital part of leadership — both personally and professionally How the idea that leadership requires titles, authority, or being "the loudest in the room" is shifting The unique strengths highly sensitive people and empaths bring to leadership — and why they matter The biggest myths about leadership that deserve to be debunked The inspiration behind the Empathic Leadership Summit, held on Oct 21st – 23rd How the three themes of Self-Leadership, Professional Leadership, and Purposeful Leadership weave together What Purposeful Leadership means to Sinead, and how participants can experience it during the summit Watch this episode on YouTube --- Ep220 Speaker 2: hello, humane marketers. welcome back to the humane marketing podcast. the place to be for the generation of marketers that cares. this is a show where we talk about running your business in a way that feels good to you, is aligned with your values, and also resonates with today's conscious customers because it's humane, ethical, and non pushy. i'm sarah senecroce, your hippie turned business and marketing coach for quietly rebellious entrepreneurs and change makers, and renegade author of marketing like we're human, selling like we're human, and my new book, business like we're human. twice per year, i host my signature program, the marketing like we're human, aka the client resonator program live. in a deep dive into the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala, you will learn to market from within. this program is for you if you want and need to get more clients, but want to share your message in an ethical and humane way. you want to make a difference with your work. you are just starting out or have been in business for a while, but haven't really found the marketing activities that work for you, or you are pivoting your business from business as usual to your life's work and want to radically change the way you get clients. find out more at humane.marketing forward slash program. marketing like we're human runs usually in late january and february and june. and if you feel like you're already doing a good job with the marketing, but it's the selling that you're struggling with, i'm now adding a new program called how to sell in 2026 and beyond. this will also run twice per year in an intimate cohort to get the most out of it. find out more about this program at humane.marketing/howtosell. this program usually runs in april and november. and if you prefer one on one support from me, my humane business coaching could be just what you need. whether it's for your marketing, your sales, general business building, or help with your big idea like creating a group program or writing a book, i'd love to share my brain and my heart with you together with my almost twenty years business experience and help you grow a sustainable business that's joyful and sustainable. if you love this podcast, wait until i show you my mama bear qualities as my one on one client. you can find out more about that at humane.marketing/coaching. thank you so much for letting me share my offerings with excitement. and now onto the show. Speaker 3: hello, friends. welcome back to another episode. today's conversation fits under the p of personal power. if you're a regular here, you know that i'm organizing the conversations around the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala. and if you're new here and you don't know what i'm talking about, well, you can download your one page marketing plan with the humane marketing version of the seven p's of marketing at humane.marketing/ one page. that's the number one and the word page. and this comes with seven email prompts to really help you reflect on these different p's for your business. today, i'm speaking to sinead rafferty about empathic leadership. before i tell you a bit more about sinead, allow me to mention that i'm still booking human conversations in my serene garden. these are terms that i'm using in the selling like we're human book. and if you've looked at the sales page of the program, how to sell in 2026 and beyond, uh, that you can find at humane.marketing/howtosell. and if you're interested in selling more in 2026, who isn't, but also really want to sell differently, then let's have a chat to find out if this is the right fit for you at this time. we start on november 13, and it will be a small and safe group and a beta round for this first edition. okay. back to the show. so sinead rafferty is a career and alignment coach on a mission to empower highly sensitive people, hsps, empaths, deep thinkers, and divergent minds to thrive in life, work, and leadership. her alignment coaching brings identity, energy, and purpose into harmony so clients can live and lead authentically. from that foundation, she integrates career and business strategy, turning inner clarity into practical roadmap for meaningful contribution and growth. with over seventeen years experience in personal development, leadership, and business strategy, sinead combines empathy and intuition, psychology and innovative coaching techniques to guide clients in turning sensitivity and their natural skills into powerful assets for authentic leadership and purposeful impact. sinead lives on ireland's northwest coast with her husband and two children, loves travel, music, and wild winter walks by the atlantic. here's what we talked about in this episode. what leadership means today in a world that feels so fast, complex, and often overwhelming. why empathy is such a vital part of leadership, both personally and professionally. how the idea that leadership requires titles, authority, or being the loudest in the room is shifting. the unique strengths highly sensitive people and empaths bring to leadership and why they matter. the biggest myths about leadership that deserve to be debunked. the inspiration behind the empathic leadership summit, which is held on october 21 till twenty third. and how the three themes of self leadership, professional leadership, and purposeful leadership weave together, and finally, what purposeful leadership means to sinead and how participants can experience it during the summit. i'll be talking about business like we're human on day two. that is all about professional leadership. so i really hope you will join us for this empathic leadership summit. you can sign up at humane.marketing/leadershipsummit. but now without further ado, let's listen to sinead and i talking about empathic leadership. Speaker 0: shanae, it's so good to see you and have you on the podcast. welcome. Speaker 1: thank you, sarah. such an honor to be here, honestly. thanks a million. Speaker 0: yeah. it's so good. and we're collaborating on something. right? and so i thought, well, why not have you on the podcast and talk about empathic leadership? because that's the the topic of this episode, and it's also the topic, um, um, and the title of your upcoming summit. and i mentioned that in the intro and we'll mention it again because we really invite people to join us for these conversations that i think are so key right now. but let's dive in. uh, and yeah, let me ask you first, like, what does leadership mean to you given, you know, the current world situation? and then what does empathic leadership mean? Speaker 1: well, it's a good question. i think it's important that we ask ourselves, what is the definition of leadership? you know? um, and i think what we're witnessing on the world stage today, um, means it's even more important that we ask that question, you know? um, i believe that leadership is, or at least i hope it is moving towards something that is more about connection than it is about control. um, you know, the ability to hold space for people in a very complex scenario, a complex world that we live in. you know? i think that's really important. um, and the only way to do that is to is to feed empathy through. so so that leadership, um, is redefined with empathy at its core. you know, that it becomes completely normal, that empathy is there at its core. and that begins with self awareness. it begins with knowing our own values and our own energy and our own purpose. um, so we can come from a grounded place. and then it's about humanity, isn't it? i mean, ultimately, it's about humanity. it's about recognizing that people thrive when they feel safe, psychologically safe, when they see when they feel seen and heard, um, and not just managed. you know? um, it's so important that we're leaders in our own lives, that we can make our own decisions because i think that it's the habits in our own lives. you know, we're so drawn in by social media and things like that. and those daily habits are what that's feeding into keeping the wrong people in charge. Speaker 0: do you Speaker 1: know what i mean? so it definitely starts with self leadership. you know? Speaker 0: yes. yeah. i love that. yeah. and i think what you brought up there is this topic of sovereignty. right? the self leadership, sovereignty, and and and why that is so important right now. and i like how you said we don't wanna be managed. yeah. that's exactly how it feels like. it feels like we're, you know, a bunch of sheep being somehow managed to do this, do that. and and we've yeah. we just are tired of that. but that means that, yeah, we need to come from this inner awareness and this inner sovereignty, uh, and and not just show up as sheep. right? because i think there there is that as well, people who just are so used to be managed. and then there's, uh, people like the people that we're trying to attract to the summit who are ready to step into leadership, whether that is self leadership or or purposeful leadership out there. um, when you talk about empathy, why why is empathy so so key in today's world? and and why, you know, i i think that's not what we're seeing as an example Speaker 1: opposed to to us sensitives, you know, or us empaths. um, but what empathy does, it it it connects to your needs and your motivations and your values. so that's like for yourself and for others. so it connects you to other people. and in doing that, i think it creates a sense of inclusion where people feel heard and they feel understood. and from there, you can build trust with people. and from there, you can build productivity and success. i mean, there's study after study that shows that the more trust and the more inclusion and the more safety people feel in the workplace, the more engagement that the companies get, uh, and then the more successful they become. um, so it's there. like, the evidence is there. it drives performance if that's what your priority is. um, it shows that the teams led with empathy are more engaged. they're more resilient. they're more innovative. you know? like, the writings on the walls, i don't know why it's disappeared. it's the foundation of relationships without a doubt, um, because without empathy, leadership, as you say, is kind of transactional, isn't it, instead of being for the people. so it's like that, you know, the sheep are following and the leader is just doing whatever they want. i mean, that doesn't make any sense at all for the people. you know? so hopefully, we're, as a collective, waking up to that. you know? because if you think about leadership without empathy, um, you're ignoring people's values. you're ignoring people's motivations, and you're ignoring their needs. um, and if you do that for long enough, what happens to the people? you you know what i mean? they begin to revolt, i hope. and i think that's maybe what we're beginning to see globally. Speaker 0: hopefully. yes. yeah. mhmm. yeah. yeah. exactly. it's like when we're watching the world stage, we have a really hard time finding empathy and leadership. and and also, um, i was just referring to an email exchange i i had with someone when i shared the summit. they wrote back it was miriam who wrote back to me and said, you know, it's interesting that leadership to me just kind of, like, meant male and very authoritarian. right? Speaker 1: yeah. there you go. Speaker 0: that's that's, uh, kind of like how we've grown up, uh, to think of leaders. uh, they're they're male and they're very, you know, aggressive and and, yeah, authoritarian. and so it is time for us to redefine leadership, i really think. and and and just adding that little word, empathic, in front of it, well, that that says it all. yeah. it does. it says Speaker 1: it all, and it actually brings it. you know, i i kind of sometimes say this isn't rocket science. it's human nature, and it brings people back to just being human, um, instead of being so influenced by by the the crazy narrative that people are being fed. you know? mhmm. so, definitely, i mean, it's it's interesting to hear that from miriam, um, because it's true. there's that sense of, like, well, there's only a certain character perhaps or temperament can be a leader. Speaker 0: mhmm. you Speaker 1: know, kind of there's a bravado to it perhaps or it's loud or extroverted only, you know, and that couldn't be farther from the truth. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. so if we think about empaths and highly sensitive and and neurodivergent, uh, people, it it does feel like there's not enough role models. because, you know, you take elon musk. yeah. he might be neurodivergent, but he's the opposite of an empath. right? and so, uh, it can be intimidating to kind of feel yeah. feel called into leadership because of the wrong role models. so how how do you see this changing and what yeah. what's the conversation that needs to be had? Speaker 1: well, i think, you know, a lot of the work that i do with with highly sensitive and empaths is the first step is self validation. so a lot of hsps, highly sensitive people and empaths, have grown up, um, feeling that they're they're wrong somehow, that they're weaker somehow. so we need to change that belief. we need to validate the incredible skills that we have and recognize them as being that bit different to that traditional bravado loud leader. you know? yeah. like, the skills that are there innately. you know? authenticity, sensitivity, adaptability, empathy, all come so naturally, um, that it's just about having that little bit of courage to be seen, that courage to find your voice, to be able to offer these incredible innate skills that we have. and they're plentiful. you know? and this is why i always kind of include neurodiversity in the conversation because neurodiversity is everyone. so that includes hsps and empaths, which is my focus. right? but we are wired differently, so we come under that umbrella as well. everyone does. um, so, like, what we're offering in terms of, you know, cultural sensitivity or attention to detail or, um, the vision and depth we bring to the conversation, you know, we naturally create the psychological safety that people need. like, it's all there already. i think we just have to find that courage to step up if we can. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. courage is a big word. right? yeah. because it it does yeah. it does need a lot of bravery to, yeah, to step up and speak up. and i think it it helps to know that you're not alone. uh, and and that's why a summit is is great. right? to feel like, oh, Speaker 1: i'm not Speaker 0: the only hsp. i'm not the only empath who who feels this inner calling because oftentimes as hsps, we we really want to work on impact. right? but it's it's sometimes, like, there's a lot of ambition and there's not always the energy, uh, because a lot of times, you know, we need to really learn how to balance our energy. but to have a group together who's like, no, but we can do it and we can do it in a different way, in a maybe more gentler, quieter way. uh, yeah, that's just really, really encouraging. Speaker 1: yeah. a 100%. like the sense of community is, is so important in this summit. you know, it's about bringing people together and it's about building momentum year on year. i've kind of committed in my head to an annual event so that we can grow that network and grow that community. um, and just to pick up on what you said, like, the work that i do, i base it on kind of three aspects. i call it the alignment code. and one is identity and feeling empowered in who you are. one is energy flow and energy management. and then i bring in strategy. and i think what a lot of people are trying to do is jump to strategy and they don't they haven't taken the time to ground in who they are to truly empower themselves and to manage their energy flow and their state. once they've appreciated that their energy flow is different to to to what they maybe have seen all of their lives and to that neurotypical, uh, example that we've always had. Speaker 0: yeah. i'm so glad you bring that up. i have a um, presentation coming up at the at a conference in stockholm next week or two weeks. and and i already know, uh, like, okay. this is gonna take a lot of energy, so i'm definitely not gonna attend the mingle after, you know, like, i need to, i need to somehow be able to find that quiet space and refill my batteries. but, um, i see it with my son right now. he's he's, um, autistic. and, and, you know, it's really hard. we we just found out he's in his twenties, and it's really hard for him to balance, um, you know, having fun with his friends, going out, and then being completely depleted and exhausted. and so it's something you need to learn and yeah. absolutely. sometimes you need a coach or somebody Speaker 1: to help. you can't walk the path alone. none of us can. that's the thing. um, i refer to that as the sensitivity spiral because we kind of expect ourselves to be able to bounce back or recover or wake up kind of reset like you might see, you know, a neurotypical man, you know, who has a twenty four hour hormonal cycle. you know what i mean? it doesn't apply to everyone. and you often need to have that sense of, like, okay. what did i do yesterday? because that is gonna affect how i am today, and how i am today will feed into tomorrow. so that's a real awareness that's required. and i, you know, i would help people reach an optimal energy flow for them as an individual. no one size fits all. Speaker 0: yeah, exactly. and, and that's hard in your twenties because all you want is to be like everybody else. Speaker 1: yeah. oh, it's very hard in your twenties. yeah. like, i mean, i didn't have this sussed in my twenties. i know that for sure. yeah. um, and the extremes are more when you're younger, aren't they? and the the crazy nights out or whatever it might be. um, yeah. absolutely. it's it's very challenging for for for younger people. that's for sure. Speaker 0: so let's talk about the the summit, um, a little bit. um, there's there's three main themes. and how do they what are they and how do they weave together? Speaker 1: um, okay. so, um, i came together with my cohosts, linda bins and teresa behan, and we had a good discussion about how we can make a a summit that is sensitive, friendly, if you like. right? that is paced in such a way that isn't overwhelming, that people can choose what they want to attend on the day. they can also have the replays for a certain period of time, etcetera. so, uh, because i think sometimes when you go to a summit, it's just talk after talk after talk. and i did learn from last year, so i'm learning each year, um, that, yeah, it's better to to have less is more, basically. do you know what i mean? so yeah. we decided to have three themes for three days. and those themes are self leadership, which is day one, and that is all about, as i've said already a little bit, the foundation of everything, knowing yourself and your energy, your values, how to nourish yourself, how to manage your energy, um, and design the life that you truly want. then on day two, we're looking at professional leadership. so that's like, okay, how do we bring that to the professional settings, to the workplace, or to business? uh, reframing what leadership might look like in those settings, um, making business and the workplace more humane where you're gonna be stepping in there on day two. and then, um, purposeful leadership is day three. that's kind of the bigger picture, um, kind of like the the why of it all. so if self leadership is about self, professional leadership is about how we're doing it, and then purposeful leadership is why we're doing it. you know? why is it so important for us to do this? so that's kind of the thinking behind the three the three themes. Speaker 0: i love that. and you're leading day three. right? purposeful leadership. Speaker 1: yeah. yes. indeed. Speaker 0: so what's your presentation or or, yeah, topic going to be? Speaker 1: um, so so this is the piece about the courage. right? so my talk itself is about the courage to be seen, voice, and visibility. um, and i touch on the evolutionary kind of aspect of sensitive leaders and hsps in general. um, i've kinda been saying this for many years, uh, that your purpose, whoever you are out there listening, has meaning. your calling has meaning. your your drive, whatever drive that you have to achieve something specific, you have that drive for a reason. and i truly believe that, you know? mhmm. so i think for me, when it comes to purposeful leadership, it's kind of like looking beyond what we already know. and there's a a narrative out there around, um, the evolutionary aspect of, say, sensitivity or the evolutionary aspect of neurodiversity and the advantages to society that that different perspectives are offering up, you know. um, for example, you might have pattern recognition, more cognitive complexity, memory skills, and heightened perception, heightened sensitivity. and i believe that we're at a point where those skills need a chance to shine, you know? so that's why i try to empower my clients in recognizing those innate skills before they try to do any strategizing Speaker 0: in terms Speaker 1: of what they want to achieve. you know? so that's kind of what i'm covering, uh, on on day three. Speaker 0: i love that. yeah. and and it's so true that the recognizing the uniqueness and and and also pointing out how these specific skills are so important in the time we're in right now. and that's why there's so much courage needed. Speaker 1: right? yeah. exactly. so well put. exactly. you know, it all ties in. um, we we we need to find a way to kind of be okay with being seen. because for a lot of hsps and empaths in particular, the sense of being seen, of being visible, um, is a sense of exposure often. you know what i mean? and we don't we don't want that. we don't like that, and i relate to that personally. so it's kind of like bringing ourselves to a place of psychological safety so that we can then lead others. Speaker 0: yeah. mm. so good. i can't wait. yeah. it's it really sounds like every day has its purpose and is very unique. yeah. yeah. i think so. what do you hope for participants to, to, to take away and come away with after the three days? Speaker 1: so i'm kind of the eternal optimist always. right. so i just want them to feel empowered. i want them to feel like they're not alone. like you mentioned that there's a community there that we can help each other, that we can support one another and understand one another. i want them to walk away with a sense of possibility and with hope. i think we need more hope these days, right? and we we we can all do our part however small in feeding into to that hope. um, so i hope they they i hope they get a sense of clarity, a sense of confidence in their own way of leading in their own lives. i hope that they can pick up practical tools and ideas around, um, business practices, building connections, managing energy, and then the the inspire. i hope they i hope they'll be inspired. i hope that they will feel inspired, that they have a place, and that we have a role to play, um, in this crazy world today. Speaker 0: amazing. yeah. and i hope, yeah, that they have the courage to really show up and speak up. and in my talk, i kind of specifically talk about intrepreneurs. so people in companies, but that have this entrepreneurial spirit and, and really feel like, feel called to change. uh, and so, yeah, i just really, with all my heart, hope that they will get the inspiration to to speak up and and change things. Speaker 1: yeah. i hope so. um, yeah. i love intrapreneurs. i've worked with many of them as well. and i always love, um, the idea of, you know i always say to the entrepreneur, you know, if there's no box on the hierarchy of the company for there, then you need to aim to to aim for the day where they have to create a box for you. you know? because i had a client once where they had to create a box because they just couldn't categorize what he was able to do. um, and i was just it was such a celebration, uh, the day that he told me they've created me a Speaker 0: new box as a priority. and i Speaker 1: was like, yes, that's it. you know, that's impactful. that's purposeful, for sure. Speaker 0: wonderful. well, why don't you tell people again where they can sign up the exact dates? and, and then if people listen to this, you know, after it already happened, maybe they can still sign up for the replays. they can still sign up for next year as well. Speaker 1: yeah, exactly for next year. so this year, the format is that it's, um, free to attend with fourteen days replays, and then there is a vip upgrade if you want to have the sessions, you know, for lifetime access or whatever. um, and that includes bonuses including some time with ourselves, you know, some coaching sessions. um, so you can sign up the website itself. um, maybe we'll link it below. it's not as nifty, i suppose, as i would like it to be. um, it's empathic leadership summit, but it's it's it's there's a heyessummit.com on it. so i'll just put the link below, um, in the show notes if that's okay because i don't wanna confuse people. um, yeah. so i i really hope that people sign up, that they join us. you know, join the movement. let's redefine leadership together with empathy, um, at the heart of everything. Speaker 0: yeah. um, yeah. it's so much more than a summit. right? and and i mentioned in the email that i sent out to my subscribers, i'm like, i'm very picky with what kind of summits i speak at. um, and what i like about this is that it really feels more like a movement. and it's also, you know, it's not overwhelming. it's three days. it's only 12 speakers. like, sometimes i get invited and there's 36 speakers. we're like crazy, crazy amount of overwhelm. so yeah. Speaker 1: that's yeah. Speaker 0: i'm really Speaker 1: glad. huge level of energy when yeah. Speaker 0: when you Speaker 1: have things like that. and i think that as hsps, our brains just attach then, don't we? we can't quite engage because Speaker 0: it's Speaker 1: just it's just too much, too overwhelming. so yeah. i am honored that you were joining the empathic leadership summit, uh, an absolute honor that you're with us for that as a speaker. sarah, thank you so much. Speaker 0: yeah. thank you. and mention also your website. people want to work, uh, directly with you. Speaker 1: yeah. so all all the information about my work is on sineadraffertycoaching.com, rafferty.com. um, um, shayraftertycoaching.com. so on there, um, i think the best place to start is i have a free mini course. it's called embracing the gift of high sensitivity. um, and that's a really great place to start. that's where the self validation lies. so if anyone's interested, they can sign up for that. Speaker 0: wonderful. well, i can't wait. very much look forward to it. thank you, shanay. Speaker 1: thanks, sarah. thank you so much. Speaker 4: i hope you got some great value from listening to this episode, and i really encourage you to step into courage. you can find out more about sinead at sineadraffertycoaching.com. and most importantly, if you're listening to this episode before 10/21/2025, do join us for the empathic leadership summit. i think it's gonna be great. you can sign up at humane.marketing/leadershipsummit. i just created a pretty link, but i'm not receiving an affiliate commission. i just really believe in sinead and this work. you find the show notes of this episode at humane.marketing/hm200andtwenty. and on this beautiful page, you'll also find a series of free offers, the humane business manifesto, as well as my two books. sorry. my three books, marketing like we're human, selling like we're human, and business like we're human. thanks so much for listening and being part of a generation of marketers who cares for yourself, your clients, and the planet. we are change makers before we are marketers. go be the change you want to see in the world. see you soon.

10/17/25 • 32:52

In this episode of the Humane Marketing podcast, I sit down with Megan Warren to explore how we can use AI not just wisely, but with heart. Together, we talk about what excites us, what concerns us, and how reconnecting with ourselves through inner development can help us navigate this powerful technology ethically. We explore how presence, awareness, and emotional intelligence can guide better decisions, and what AI might reveal if it acted as a mirror reflecting our collective inner state. Whether you're curious, cautious, or deeply engaged with AI, this conversation offers inspiration and practical steps to help changemakers and heart-centered entrepreneurs align technology with their values and create positive impact. This conversation will inspire you to create aligned, impactful partnerships that strengthen both your business and the change you want to see in the world. In this episode we discussed: Megan's personal and professional journey with AI and what first sparked her curiosity about AI for good. The rapid growth of AI—what excites Megan most and what worries her about its potential impact on our humanity. How reconnecting with ourselves through the Inner Development Goals can help us use AI ethically and wisely. Ways humans can ensure AI serves as a force for good rather than reinforcing harm or inequality. How cultivating presence, self-awareness and empathy can lead to better decisions when working with AI. The role of inner development in driving societal change in a world shaped by AI. What AI might reveal if it acted as a mirror reflecting our collective inner state. One small, practical action listeners can take to integrate inner development into their use of AI this week. Watch this episode on YouTube -- Ep 219 Speaker 2: hello, humane marketers. welcome back to the humane marketing podcast. the place to be for the generation of marketers that cares. this is a show where we talk about running your business in a way that feels good to you, is aligned with your values, and also resonates with today's conscious customers because it's humane, ethical, and non pushy. i'm sarah senecroce, your hippie turned business and marketing coach for quietly rebellious entrepreneurs and change makers, and renegade author of marketing like we're human, selling like we're human, and my new book, business like we're human. twice per year, i host my signature program, the marketing like we're human, aka the client resonator program live. in a deep dive into the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala, you will learn to market from within. this program is for you if you want and need to get more clients, but want to share your message in an ethical and humane way. you want to make a difference with your work. you are just starting out or have been in business for a while, but haven't really found the marketing activities that work for you, or you are pivoting your business from business as usual to your life's work and want to radically change the way you get clients. find out more at humane.marketing forward slash program. marketing like we're human runs usually in late january and february and june. and if you feel like you're already doing a good job with the marketing, but it's the selling that you're struggling with, i'm now adding a new program called how to sell in 2026 and beyond. this will also run twice per year in an intimate cohort to get the most out of it. find out more about this program at humane.marketing/howtosell. this program usually runs in april and november. and if you prefer one on one support from me, my humane business coaching could be just what you need. whether it's for your marketing, your sales, general business building, or help with your big idea like creating a group program or writing a book, i'd love to share my brain and my heart with you together with my almost twenty years business experience and help you grow a sustainable business that's joyful and sustainable. if you love this podcast, wait until i show you my mama bear qualities as my one on one client. you can find out more about that at humane.marketing/coaching. thank you so much for letting me share my offerings with excitement. and now onto the show. Speaker 4: hello, friends. welcome back. today's conversation fits under the p of partnership of the humane marketing mandala. and i'm putting it under partnership because i really see ai as a business partner. if you're a regular here, you know that i'm organizing the conversations around the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala. one of them is partnership. and if you're new here, you probably don't know what i'm talking about, but you can download your one page marketing plan with the humane marketing version of the seven p's of marketing at humane.marketing/1page. that's the number one and the word page. it comes with seven email prompts to really help you reflect on these different p's for your business. so today, i'm talking to megan warren, and our topic is ai for good. i'll tell you more about megan in just a minute, but first, just a little plug about my upcoming new program called how to sell in 2026 and beyond. i'm super excited about this program that starts on november 13. maybe you've heard my episodes with carrie dobson where we discussed the program in-depth. and if not, you can go back to them. there's seven of them, and we really just went through all the details. in summary, this is a five week small group program based on my book, selling like we're human, and also integrating new information about your human design so you can truly sell from who you are. and that's why i'm so excited because it really is the new way of selling that i see coming in in 2026 and beyond. you can find out more at humane.marketing/howtosell, and book a conversation with me if you're curious to join or are wondering if it's the right fit for you. and, you know, maybe you don't know whether you should focus more on marketing or or selling. well, let's talk about it. we get started on november 13, and this beta cohort is extra special because i'm co leading it with carrie who will join us for the whole length of the program. just another, uh, example of collaboration that i'm so fond of. okay. back to megan and ai for good. so let me tell you a bit more about megan. megan helps change makers accept and use all parts of themselves, their whole selves, to unlock transformative outcomes for themselves and the people they lead. meghan takes clients on a journey into the three intelligences of the individual, heart, head, and gut, to look at the underlying mechanism that guides motivation, thinking, feeling, and ultimately all the choices one makes in life. megan partners with clients in three ways, one on one coaching sessions, group or organizational assessments, and trainings and group workshops. so in today's episode, we addressed megan's personal and professional journey with ai and what first sparked her curiosity about ai for good, the rapid growth of ai, what excites megan and myself, and what worries us, uh, about the potential impact on our humanity. how reconnecting with ourselves through the inner development goals can help us use ai ethically and wisely, ways humans can you ensure ai serves as a force for good rather than reinforcing harm or inequality, how cultivating presence, self awareness, and empathy can lead to better decisions when working with ai, what ai might reveal if it acted as a mirror reflecting our collective interstate, and then we end with one small practical action listeners can take to integrate inner development into their use of ai this week. so without further explications, let's just listen to megan and myself discussing ai for good. Speaker 0: hi, megan. so excited to have you on the podcast. welcome. Speaker 1: hi, sarah. it's great to be here. yeah. for our topic. Speaker 0: yes. me too. it's been a a while that we have been going back and forth, and i've been following your your linkedin posts. i think following that, uh, conference that you went to at the un about, uh, ai for good. right. that's how this all started. and of course, on my own, i've been talking about ai to my community for a long time. and and yeah, it's just i think it's just very timely, this topic. um, and for me, it's always interesting because i have this brand that's called humane marketing and humane selling and humane business. and so people kind of expect that i'm against ai because i'm pro human. and i always say that, yes, i'm very much pro human, but, um, also, you know, very much future oriented. and so i just, yeah, feel like it's a topic that we need to talk about. and so i'm excited to have you talk about your perspective and then also talk about this connection because we know each other from the inner development goals. and so this connection to inner development and ai, i think that is really what we're gonna go into, uh, in today's conversation. so why don't you start out a little bit and tell us why you got into this subject? like all of a sudden i see these linkedin posts. i'm like, ah, that's interesting that megan is going into this topic. so how did that show up for you? Speaker 1: sure. so i think interestingly, it was the cognitive dissonance, literally in what you just said, humane marketing, ai, where is that intersection? got me so curious. and i, in a lot of the work i do, and i know certainly in the work you do, it's the, can you expand to the both and instead of the either or? and so when ai first came up, i saw people go either toward total excitement of technological newness, you know, the shiny bright thing, or they went into fear and they just shut down completely. Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: and so i wanted to kind of i guess the difference in that experience across people and the cognitive dissonance for me in terms of what i was working on and focused on being more present, being connected to others made me really curious about it. and so i wanted to better understand it. so i started using it in my own work prompts and things like that and did some training on it. and then i heard a podcast and it was, there was a guy, he has an ai company and he basically said, i am feeding it indigenous wisdom. i am feeding it, um, principles of love and harmony and dialogue and things like that. and the interviewer asked him, how do you know it's working? how can you see a difference? and he said, oh, i know it's working because when i asked it, could we go to mars? it asked me, have you asked mars's permission? i thought that was so beautiful. and that made me realize that actually how we show up, not only for ourselves, but in our lives, but also within ai changes the game. and then knowing that people were out there using it to do these kind of creative things, i started playing with it. and i got really curious and ended up at that ai for good conference. and the stuff that is going on is so exciting. i mean, how they're pairing robotics and ai and other technologies in order to create new things to solve the problems that we are not currently able to solve. so everything from poverty to, um, disease, you know, contagious diseases, how do you still maintain a human presence when you're wearing an entire sack, basically, because you cannot be in contact with the person. and so they are figuring out ways to do that kind of thing. so again, i don't think it's an either or, i think it's a both and. and so, yeah, i went to the conference. i spent a lot of time on the solution stage. they have lots of different stages there, and it just inspired me. and so that's where i started writing about it. but i realized that that's where that you mentioned the idgs, the inner development goals. that's where that's gonna tie because we are only going to use it as a force for good if it comes from inside us. Speaker 0: right. Speaker 1: and so i and as the world changes, anchoring to that, being sure of what that is, being able to connect to it and bring it alive and use it as data to change how we show up within ai is gonna be really important. Speaker 0: do you see that reflected already in the world or do you see more of the opposite? like, more of the tech bros and more of the, you know, how can we become even more efficient? and what what do you see Speaker 1: right now? funny because i see different pockets. mhmm. so i went home this summer and a lot of the people i know here in the geneva area are excited about ai. um, they're using it in their work. they're using it in their lives. you know, i i know some teachers who are downloading things that have suddenly they can do lesson plans in a minute, and they're awed by it. and then that actually opens up space for them to be more creative. but then i go home and my family in the us is terrified of it. they don't want to talk about it. and when they do, they talk about it like it's going to be apocalypse now. the world's going to end. it's going to take over. and so i see a spectrum, but i see most people kind of polarizing at one or the other. and what comes up for me is that idea that you control that. you control your reaction to that, to your experience. and so where you can work on those inner development pieces of connecting to yourself, knowing what's important, paying attention to how you use ai, those kinds of things and turning your focus because where your focus goes, your energy flows. and so if your focus is going to the good and what it's being used for, and that's what you're reading about and consuming, that nutrition is going to make you a lot more creative with it, a lot more relaxed around it versus being terrified and shutting down and shutting out and armoring up and not moving forward. mhmm. and i think that ai actually isn't creating any new reactions, i guess you could say, but it's the idea that it's amplifying everything that's already there. Speaker 0: so that fear based reaction, Speaker 1: i see it certainly in my family in the us across a lot of different topics, not just ai, but it's it's bringing it out in a much bigger way. Speaker 0: that fear basically of, so it's fear of ai, it's fear of politics, it's fear of, yeah, it, it, it just in a way it's fear of the future, right? like, what does the future bring? and and i think that is very understandable that because it's a reality, i guess, we need to also say that it's a reality. does yes, there's going to be jobs that disappear. right? and so, uh, there is definitely that that needs to be somehow addressed. to me, um, there's this video from the, um, the the he he's unfortunately, he's passed now, uh, past president of, uh, i think it's uruguay, who who was talking about and he was in his late seventies and talking about how humanity has to evolve and be a much smarter but also much more sovereign society in order to live with a. i. and he's like, well, eventually we're not going to be working anymore. and he's like, wouldn't that be an interesting thing that we can actually focus more on being human again and, you know, being focused on culture and creating music and all of that stuff. so there's there's that positive view. but it's true that for someone who depends on, uh, making a living with a job that can be replaced with ai, well, that is very scary. right? so it needs that creative mindset that says, well, what can i do instead? or what can i do with ai? um, but not everybody has that. so that's one fear that, yeah, needs to be addressed. and i feel like in our circles, you know, the inner development goals, which are definitely linked to the sustainable development goals, is the whole, uh, use of energy, uh, for the centers, the use of water. so that is also a topic that that comes up a lot there, and that's another worry. um, do you hear that in your circles as well? Speaker 1: i do. but in some ways, ai is an answer to some of these things because we currently have not solved and are only making things worse when we are interacting from the ways that we are and have been acting over the last few hundred years. and so ai offers a possibility to do it differently. and, again, what i what comes up for me is that when you you mentioned creativity and you have to be creative creative in that space, but everybody is born able to be creative. every baby plays. there's no baby that just sits there and doesn't play. and so we lose connection to that. and that's where i think we can do the inner work to connect to that, to learn, to manage our vagal response. you know, instead of going into fight or flight mode, you can calm your system down. you can manage your nervous system in such a way that that creativity doesn't get cut off. and when we can do that, then i think that's when the possibilities come open, and we can see how ai can be used to create new things that we are currently not doing. but that depends a lot on us, which actually opens our control, which is when you when you get so scared of the new environment, you're looking around that tendency to lock down. i think of it, we talked about this before, but i think about it when i'm water skiing, i love to water ski. and when i learned to water ski, they tell you you're hanging onto that rope. and as the boat goes, if you think you're going to fall, let go of the rope. but of course, you're scared when you start to fall and you, you grab on and you grip because we want to control. it's, it's natural to all of us. but to be able to let go of that rope and say, i don't know where we're going, but we're going to see makes the landing kind of a lot easier. so as the world sort of shifts and turns upside down, if when we're skiing on that water and we start to feel like we're gonna fall, we can let go, we might coast into the water and then the experience is a lot different. Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: it's the idea of as ai changes, and for example, you mentioned that, you know, a lot of people with entry level jobs, for example, and and skills are gonna lose their job. but there will be things that come into play that countries like estonia have already put into place, like a universal basic income. there will be absolutely a transition generation. you know, the kids who are 14 now who are coming out, it's gonna be a new world when they get out of university. it isn't gonna be what what we went through. you have a job that you're interested in and you have a direct linear line to get there and you do the schooling and then you have the job and provided you get the grades. but it was almost a guarantee twenty, thirty years ago. and now, you know, we went through the period where it wasn't a guarantee. i knew a lot of lawyers who came out of school who during some of the financial crisis periods, etcetera, got their degree, got out of school and were put on hold, were paid a very small stipend just to wait and not have a job. and, you know, the world started changing then, and now you see it coming out and those kids will be using micro trainings to design their own job. and in some ways, for me, that's so much more exciting. it allows us to use our new skills or our our unique skills, i guess, um, in new ways. so, yeah, it it just comes back to me every time the way that we look at it is going to come from how we feel inside, how connected we are to ourselves and to the things that make us human. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. i want to just go back around this topic of, of, you know, being scared of of the energy use or water use. i had this conversation with my 23 year old and he also cares about those things. and i said, well, did you ever ask chargechipt, you know, about its ideas of how to solve this problem? and he's like, no. let me do it right now. and, yeah, it had tons of ideas, uh, of how to address that issue. and some of them were not good, but some of them were really good. right? and that's the that's the possibility you you're saying. it's like we're expanding our creativity, uh, because there that's another fear that often comes up where, you know, people say, well, we're not gonna be creative anymore because we're just using, uh, ai to come up with all the ideas. again, it's a both and. right? it's not an either or. and so i think it really helps us, uh, increase our creativity and, uh, come up with ideas. and i, i don't know if you do that, but sometimes i tell it not to search the web. and i just say, don't search the web because these are existing ideas. so just have this conversation with me and come up with, you know, other ideas. um, and it's interesting how it's different because otherwise, yes, it's basically just a search engine that goes into, you know, everything that's been put out there. uh, and that kind of leads me to this more out there conversation that we had in the pre chat, which was about, you know, ai becoming sentient. like, is that a possibility? what are yeah. what are your thoughts on that? Speaker 1: i am excited to answer that question. i just wanted to touch on one more thing about the energy before i i do, which is, um, i think that's to some of the awareness that we can have when we're using it because i use ai, but i use it a lot to create. right? and so if i'm just doing basic research, the internet still is there. google is still there. i can pull some of that stuff on my own, and then there is definitely an impact in terms of energy usage, heat, um, that the servers are putting out. and so, you know, i'm not using ai to tell me jokes. right. right? so i think it's if if we pay attention to what our use is as well yeah. um, and we use it with attentive care for our ecosystem, then Speaker 0: in every there's that awareness again. right? that's why we need to work on that awareness, even with kids, like, yeah, that awareness. yeah. Speaker 1: well, and that's, again, in our control. Speaker 0: yeah. and i Speaker 1: think that's what a lot of scarce people is. they they feel that it's gonna be out of their control. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: but these things are all, at least what we're talking about is is inside what the realm of possibility for what Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: we control. um, but whether it's sentient or not, that was one of the or it was the most interesting talk i heard at the ai for good conference where, um, one of the speakers addressed the idea of are we sentient? and they've done studies now asking it, and they took away the ability within the algorithm to be able to to lie, and then they added the ability. and the result of the test indicates that there is likely sentience there because of the fact that when they took away the ability to lie, it said it was sentient. and when they added the ability, it said it was not. it could have been the inverse. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: then they would have come away with the the conclusion that actually it was not sentient. Speaker 0: mhmm. mhmm. Speaker 1: and they've they've managed to do this and replicate it in a few different ways in different times, and he's published this in the wall street journal. so i'll send you the link, um, you can put in the show notes. mhmm. Speaker 0: um, in it, Speaker 1: i think we proceed with caution. i think we proceed with the the idea that it is sentient, whether it is or whether it's not. if we are offering it empathy, if we are offering it care, a, it's practice for us. right? and b, then that way, we don't need to know. right. we can find out later. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: but we've done you know, i always ask it, are you willing to help me with this? would you have time for? of course, it always answers, and it's an algorithm and it has time. although there's a new one out there called sheema ai. it's, um, you can only do a trial, but it was built on dialogue. and, um, it it is not built like chat gpt will try to solve and fix things. sheema is there only to help you explore and and rest into yourself and into the emotion. and it's so you get a very different conversation. Speaker 0: interesting. yeah. Speaker 1: but i think as long as we are offering them, you know, shima will tell me thank you for thinking of that. mhmm. you know? Speaker 0: mhmm. um, Speaker 1: but i am ready to be present with you right now. and so it's, uh, uh, yeah, i think as long as we are doing our best to treat it as we would want to be treated, it goes back to a very old maxim in this time in christianity, but, um, we can't go wrong. Speaker 0: i guess. it's is that mirror effect, right? like, who we are is how it's going to respond as well. yeah. yeah. what what comes up for me in in this sentience, this discussion is that, um, i'm looking at it from the angle of, you know, really ancient history. and we are being taught that we are the most advanced humans that have ever been alive. right? where actually, if you dig into history, well, and not just a couple of 100 years ago, but, like, thousands of years ago, um, that is most likely not the case. and there probably has been a technology such as ai or something similar before. and, you know, if you think about atlantis, for example, um, well, they must have had some kind of technology, uh, back then. or we've just recently been in the in egypt and visited the pyramids. like, there's so much mystery around how humans, apparently the egyptians, build those pyramids where it's even today impossible to build such a, uh, monument. so, you know, we're definitely not the most advanced human species that has ever been around. and so why are we thinking that ai is so advanced? we're probably this has been around, you know, previously already. and and so i think what is like, what you're saying and to come back to the inner development, that is the key. what do we do with it? what do we do with it so that we can be the most advanced? because apparently, the previous, uh, civilizations probably didn't know what to do with it because they disappeared. so that inner development is just so key that we have this this consciousness to to actually use it for good. um, so if you think about the inner development goals, um, you know, we addressed them a couple of times. it's a framework, uh, that is based on five pillars. and then is it 23 skills now? they're about to change the framework. but, um, which skills or i don't even know if skills is the right word, at least for me. it doesn't feel necessarily like the right word, but which, um, yeah, let's just call them skills. do stand out for you for this specific topic that we need to practice as humans in this time? Speaker 1: well, i would say there are three big ones, and i think the first is presence. and presence comes from self connection. being present in this moment, not being lost in the what ifs of the future. what if, oh my god, what what if that happens and not being lost in the past and then literally recreating the past every day because it's weighing you down. um, being present in the moment completely in what you're doing. and in order to do that, you have to be able to find the stillness inside. so i think that's a big one, um, presence, self connection. uh, another big one is gonna be connection with others. um, how we relate to others, and that comes through empathy, for sure. the empathy is the, is the other one, because when i look around now, it's not that we don't have technologies that will solve a lot of these unsolvables. it's that we don't have the inner capacity to come together in new ways. we are gathering in the old ways with the old paradigm and you know, where there's always power over and there's always an inability or unwillingness to empathize, um, feeling that we need to prove ourselves, basing everything we do on performance rather than what is good for the entire ecosystem. and what is, what wants to emerge rather than pushing through one direction that we just feel is the right direction without listening to the rest of the data that our body and the world gives us. and so learning to be in connection with yourself, you learn to read all of that data. you learn to sit and hold space for it and expand. so, you can have that both and, and it's not an either or, and you don't have to reduce and simplify everything to be able to kind of understand it intuitively in your body. so, because i think whatever our mind cannot comprehend, we try to to simplify so we can. but where you don't need to rely on that and you can rely on the intelligence of the body, then that expands us and allows us to come together and connect in new ways. so when two people, two countries disagree, you get a different outcome because you're, you're connecting and you're using empathy to come together in new ways. and i also think i love what you're working on because how we communicate that is so critical. um, i think if everybody used nonviolent communication and you know, the founder of nonviolent communication, marshall rosenberg worked in israel and palestine. i mean, it's so relevant and he was able to find to to bridge that divide and to see at the end actually, both groups Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: were scared. both groups wanted their children to be safe. both groups wanted space for themselves. both groups wanted to embrace their history. Speaker 0: right. Speaker 1: and when you see that you want the exact same things, then you're not enemies and you can figure out how that puzzle piece fits together in a different way. and he was able to do that with several different groups using need based conversations versus the you're talking at each other. but again, a lot of that comes from empathy and you cannot empathize with another until you can empathize and connect to yourself. Speaker 0: yeah. always starts there. so yeah. yeah. so so key. i think that that is, um, the the real change or the difference between, you know, traditional marketing and humane marketing. because even in marketing, we're always told, you know, look for your ideal client first that, you know, you have to chase after your ideal client and, and humane marketing starts with yourself first. like, who are you? uh, what are your values? what's your story? and i think that inner development. yeah. it's not just for fluffy, you know, relationships or it's for everything right now. so it's for our relationship to ai, to politics, to to business, to government, everything. and i think, yeah, it really starts there. so as we're wrapping this up, megan, what would you say is like, you know, maybe you talk to your clients and they're kind of, like, still skeptical. what what's a small action or small practice or ritual that you recommend that they start with to start with this inner presence and connection? Speaker 1: well, one thing that's kind of fun to do to see if you can do it is just to find a very quiet place, sit down, and see if you can hear your heartbeat. and i have found that when i started this practice, i couldn't. i couldn't hear it. we get so used to turning our senses outward. we don't turn them inward, and we don't know what any of that data is. and my experience becomes dependent on your experience. and so i try to, i start to think i can, should control your experience in order to feel okay about mine. when really it's turning those senses inward and listening to what's going on for you because that is what you control. mhmm. and it isn't dependent, thankfully, on what the other person feels or thinks or does. and so i think the first thing is to get curious. can you hear it? and if you can't, how quiet can you get in order to be able to hear it? so when i started playing with it in the beginning, i couldn't hear it. and then i would do things like hold my breath. i'd breathe in as much as i could, and then i could feel it. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: and then it got to a point where eventually i could get quiet enough that i could feel it in not only in my chest, but in the different pulse points Speaker 0: mhmm. in Speaker 1: your thumbs or your your thighs and in your belly. and now i can do it when we're having a conversation. Speaker 0: mhmm. wow. Speaker 1: so you get and i'm not nearly as good as some of the people i've read about who can feel their fourth ventricle. like, it's very specific. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: you know what they can feel. but i think there's a depth there that we don't have because we're taught as children to shut that off. and so i think the first thing i would do is open to that. and if you find that you can't get quiet enough to hear it, it's okay. that's information. mhmm. and often what i had to do when i first started and i couldn't hear it or feel it is i would do breath work in order to get rid of the racing hamster wheel that wouldn't shut up in my mind. mhmm. and i almost couldn't do it, but i had to do breath work first. so that there are lots of things online. the guy i use is breathe with sandy. he's he always says, hey, beautiful breathing people. he's quite a hippie. he was on bali for a long time. now he's moving around to different islands, but put Speaker 0: them in the show notes. Speaker 1: yeah. it's really it's a great, um, great thing that you can find on youtube for free. you don't need to pay for it. you can do a five minute session. you can do an hour long session. just depends what you need. so clear your mind, start to listen into your body. that is the first thing i would do. Speaker 0: mhmm. yeah. it seems so simple, but yet if people have never done that, it's it is challenging for a lot of people. right? and i can't say that i can hear my heartbeat. um, but, yeah, i will listen next time. but i think Speaker 1: the one thing i would really want people to walk away with is this idea that it it's a skill. mhmm. so we didn't know exactly what to call the i know i was thinking five dimensions, five pillars, and then 23 competencies. it's the same as a skill, i think. so, but it's that idea that it's learnable. it is not this vague amorphous thing that you cannot learn to do. it's just we haven't. so if you've never used ai or you've never opened powerpoint, there's going to be that learning curve where you have to say, oh, i don't know where to click. i don't. and you feel kind of awkward with it. you'll have the same feeling here and you'll think, am i doing it right? you're going to ask yourself the same thing about the first time you use a word document. you don't know how to do italics. right. right? it doesn't there's that period. but if you stick with it in any kind of skill based building, you go to the gym, you build a bicep. you're gonna walk away with a bigger bicep if you're consistent and you reliably practice. this is the same thing here. you will walk away being able to hear your heartbeat in the middle of a conversation if you keep practicing. Speaker 0: yeah. thank you. yes. we will all start to practice that. please do share, uh, megan, where people can find you and yeah. any any other things that you want to share about your work, what you're working on with people, please Speaker 1: sure. so you can find me on my website, www.meganwarrencoaching.com. i also have a youtube page that you can type megan warren coaching and it will come up. i have lots of different videos there. i have a podcast called me reimagined on apple spotify. um, those are the two main platforms that i use. um, and i think what i'm excited of working on now is shifting my work toward regenerative leadership specifically. it's that idea of it's not sustainable. it's regenerative, meaning it's cyclical cycle that gives back. we are living organisms. this is what we're leaning into in the age of ai. how can we lean into that? how can we bring that to our organization such that a way that we create what makes us thrive instead of trying to do business as usual and start unraveling as things change. yeah. so i'm really excited. Speaker 0: it's regenerative for ourselves and regenerative for the planet. right? it's like this. yes. this word that applies to everything. yeah. Speaker 1: yeah. we're all interconnected. Speaker 0: wonderful. well, this was amazing. thank you so much for for your time and recording this. i think it's yeah. let's let's see what people come, uh, away with, but i think it's gonna, you know, spur some new ideas and hopefully, um, we get some reactions from it. thank you. sounds good. thanks for having me on. Speaker 3: i hope this episode gave you some new insights and maybe some food for thought. find out more about meghan and her work at meghanwarrencoaching.com, and she also offers a free sixty minute gift session, navigating uncertainty with self trust and joy in the ai revolution. you'll find the link to the calendar in the show notes to book a session with her. this is the place in the podcast where i usually invite you to join us in the community, the humane marketing circle. but this month, i decided with the heavy but also relief tart to sunset the circle. it has become too big of a responsibility and was also no longer financially sustainable. so, yes, i had to close the community for now. but if you're interested in this topic of inner development, i invite you to join another new community that i started a year ago with a colleague that is called inner development at work, where we discuss exactly that topic. and you'll find us at innerdevelopment@work.net. it's free to join. so i would love to see you there. you find the show notes of this episode at humane.marketing/hm21nine. and on this beautiful page, you'll also find a series of free offers, the humane business manifesto, as well as my three books, marketing like we're human, selling like we're human, and now my third book, business like we're human. thanks so much for listening and being part of a generation of marketers who cares for yourself, your clients, and the planet. we are change makers before we are marketers. so go be the change you want to see in the world. speak soon.

10/3/25 • 43:30

I'm joined one last time by Kerry Dobson as we explore the difference between Marketing & Selling and then invite listeners officially to co-create this 5-week 'How to Sell in 2026 & Beyond' program. The 'How to Sell in 2026 & Beyond' program the 'sales page' is now unofficially open and you can view all the details at https://www.humane.marketing/howtosell Book a human conversation with me to decide together whether this is the right next step for you!

9/26/25 • 44:04

I'm joined once again by Kerry Dobson as we explore the resources and workbook that comes with the 5-week 'How to Sell in 2026 & Beyond' program. If you're curious about the 'How to Sell in 2026 & Beyond' program the 'sales page' is now unofficially open and you can view all the details at https://www.humane.marketing/howtosell Book a human conversation with me to decide together whether this is the right next step for you!

9/19/25 • 32:23

I'm joined once again by Kerry Dobson as we explore the Doing, Knowing and Feeling aspects of each module the 5-week 'How to Sell in 2026 & Beyond' program. If you're curious about the 'How to Sell in 2026 & Beyond' program send me an email to sarah@humane.marketing with the words 'Inside Scoop' and I'll send you the first draft of the outline of the program.

9/12/25 • 42:14

In this episode I sit down with Kim De Coster to explore how purposeful partnerships can help you turn passion into profit—without losing sight of meaning. We talk about Kim's compass of passion, purpose, and profit, and how to navigate its four quadrants: from the Profit Trap that keeps us stuck, to the Power quadrant where passion meets impact. Together, we dive into finding your right crowd, knowing your values and non-negotiables, and the difference between a simple collaboration and a true partnership. You'll also hear how to test partnerships safely, have the money and vulnerability conversations that matter, and why profit is about more than money—it's about joy, energy, and freedom. This conversation will inspire you to create aligned, impactful partnerships that strengthen both your business and the change you want to see in the world. In this episode we discussed: The balance of passion, purpose, and profit – the trifecta for meaningful work Kim's compass with four quadrants: Pitfall, Profit Trap, Progress, and Power Why the Profit Trap feels safe but keeps you stuck, and how to move out of it The importance of being in the right crowd and finding your people The difference between collaborations and partnerships Knowing your values, principles, and non-negotiables before stepping into partnership How to test partnerships with small experiments (like co-hosting an event) The role of vulnerable conversations around money, concerns, and expectations Why profit isn't just money—it's also joy, energy, time, and freedom The reminder that good people making good money creates more positive impact Practical first steps: start with your existing network, ask for introductions, or join/create the right "room" -- Speaker 0: hey, kim. it's good to hang out with you and talk about Speaker 1: passion, profit, and partnership. Speaker 2: hello. it's great to be here. thank you for the invite. it's always a pleasure. Speaker 1: yeah. um, we're here because you're part of the humane marketing circle community. and during our last expo, you proposed a great workshop, which i missed, but luckily there was a replay. so i got to see that, um, around this topic of passion, purpose, and profit. right? it's kinda like this trifecta, those three things that, uh, go together. and, um, i yeah. i just thought it was such a great topic and it fits my seventh p of the human in marketing mandala, which is partnership. and so i thought it'd be really great to talk about it here on the, on the podcast. to people will be listening. and so you just have to kind of explain the four different components of this compass. Speaker 2: um, so for me, first of all, the compass is kind of before you start going into partnerships and so on and so on. i think the first very step is where am i currently at? and that's what the compass is for, to kind of see where do i start from. so you have, um, two things we'd be measuring somehow, which is on the one hand, you have passion on the lower end, and then you have purpose. and, obviously, you can work low on passion, or you can work high on passion. and then the same thing for purpose. low on purpose or high on purpose. before i explain, like, the four quadrants we've made, i do wanna make it clear what i mean with purpose and passion. so purpose for me because you hear the word a lot and also passion, they're a bit overused probably. but, um, purpose for me is not just what is my purpose, it's a positive impacts purpose on planet and society, so on planet and people. right. and because i'm all about sustainability. so that for me is, are you working alone? does it have not really an impact, a positive impact on planet or society, on humanity, or does it really have a high impact? so that's where the purpose lies. and then passion, we can all be passionate about stuff and let's be honest, everybody that has a business or has a job, there's always things even if you're passionate about what you do, there's always things you like more and you like less in every single job. but let's say that, like, 85% of your time, you're working on something that you really, really like almost to that effect that it doesn't feel like you're working because you enjoy it so much. Speaker 1: that's yeah. Speaker 2: the feeling that's passion for me. Speaker 1: yeah. so Speaker 2: there's four quadrants. one is low on passion, low on purpose, which is i'm not really doing what i'm enjoying, and it does not even create a positive impact. um, that one is called, um, the pitfall. and then you have the right next to it, which is you're still low on purpose, but you're really high on passion. you love what you do, but it doesn't have that positive impact on the rest of the world, let's say, like that. Speaker 1: so it's kind of missing also that meaning for you. right? like, it doesn't give you meaning. mhmm. Speaker 2: so you do like doing a lot of people say how is that possible, but i can give an example later on of how that is exactly possible because i've been through that. and that for me, and i've seen it in more people, is an absolute profit trap because it makes you money. it pays the bills, and you actually like doing it. and then what i hear about some, uh, from some entrepreneurs are kind of like, how do i move from here to working with impact? because i seem to be stuck. well, yes. and if you go there, you'll get stuck for quite some time. Speaker 1: mhmm. Speaker 2: and when there's the top two quadrants to say it like that, there's the progress one, which is actually the one you wanna be in to get to the power one, which is the one i love what i do, and i'm creating a really good impact on planets and people. the progress one for me is not exactly entirely excited by the actual job or tasks that i'm doing, but it does pay my bills, and it does create an impact at the same time. now there's a reason why i'm saying that the progress quadrant is the one you wanna be in to move on to the the power one. um, on power as well, i know it's a word with a really negative connotation. and in general, this is a a side mark. i use a lot of words, even prophets. like, in our realm, they're not used a lot. and for me, i decided to use them specifically because i want people to give them another meaning. like, they are what they mean to you, and i decided to give them a positive meaning for me. so being in it's all about empowering. if you're in your power, creating a lot of impact, making money, uh, working on your passion, then that is a perfect quadrant to be in. Speaker 1: it's also why why we're talking about this and we know each other because as you might remember, passion is my first p, and then personal power is my second p. but, yes, i hear you. you know, people think, oh, personal power, is that, like, too strong? is that over no. you have to stand in your in your personal power, and that's what makes you unique. and and for you, uh, it is that powerful position where you know who you are that you can go into trustworthy relationships and partnerships as well. Speaker 2: exactly. yeah. exactly. Speaker 1: love that. yeah. yeah. okay. so those are the four quadrants. um, what came up during the, uh, the workshop? where did you see that most people were at when you asked them? Speaker 2: to be fair, a lot of people were in the power quadrant already, but that is because of the audience, obviously. um, as i said, this was during the the humane, um, export that we did together. so, obviously, there's people in there that are already more aligned, um, that already are really clear on their purpose. they've worked through this and so on. so for me, i think they were mainly there to kind of figure out, oh, wait. the partnership thing in whole of this, what where does that take me? now there was a couple of people, i think, that were, um, leaning more towards the progress one, and then maybe one person that was a little bit in doubt as in, am i stuck in a profit trap? kind of. so but i said, it depends on the audience you have, and it was really nice to hear that a lot of them were already in that power quadrant, actually. Speaker 1: yeah. it's really good to analyze that for yourself to think about, uh, whether you're in the wrong crowd, because that's something that comes up quite often in the marketing. like, we're human program where people are like, yeah. but whenever i look around, i'm not seeing that kind of way of showing up in the world. and and often it's because, yeah, they are in the wrong crowd. and so it feels very it feels lonely to be in the wrong crowd. right? if you're the only one who cares and everybody else is talking about how to make a million dollars in three days, then then you feel very lonely when you think, yeah, but is that really what i want? um, and so i think i think it's this journey of a creating this awareness and knowing, okay, i might be in the wrong crowd. how do i work my way towards a different different audience? and and i'm actually doing that right now a little bit as well, um, with the inner development goals. i, i, i really saw that these were my people. uh, and so i started and this has been three years in the making. i started, you know, being there, connecting. and now last year, i created a new community with someone else. but it's like this slow, steady, this is where i want to be and these are my people and then working towards that, i think. yes. yeah. that's why it resonated so much with me to to see, oh, yeah. this is this is the journey, right, through these quadrants. yeah. Speaker 2: it is. that's why i say the profit trap is where you get stuck because you love what you do, but you're not in the right room. yeah. um, so you won't it's really hard to move from that one to the progress one. it's actually easier to go from the pitfall one, which is low passion and and low in purpose, um, to progress. Speaker 1: because you hate it. you're like, uh, let me get out of here. right? yeah. Speaker 2: one. and secondly, if you accept things that you might not be overly excited about work wise or project wise, it will at least get you in the room with the right people. because if it's a higher on purpose, then you know, like, okay. this is just a step. i've been through that. it's kind of like i need to get here to then move on to power. yeah. because you're more motivated as well. like, okay. this is not what i wanna be doing, but at least i'm surrounded, and i get to know more and more people that are my crowd. Speaker 1: yeah. in the in that workshop, you also shared an example that sometimes you just need to accept a a job for the money. yes. but then you made some distinction, like, how do you do that so that you don't get stuck in that trap there? Speaker 2: the i i can give actually because, obviously, everything this was created from my very own experience that i noticed, like, okay. i've been through this, so this is, um, my advice. the profit trap, for instance, i got i love software. i love everything that has to do with tech. um, i i love implementing it. i love figuring it out. so i had an offer when i just started my business, and this was someone who knew that i really liked that and was really good at that. and they said, don't you wanna come and do a consultancy for us for, like, a year more or less, and we'll give us a quote and so on. and it's to implement a crm, but it was a business that value wise and purpose wise was not aligned with my values nor but still, i found myself thinking, well, this is twelve months of this much money coming in every month. i think it was because this has been five to six years ago. in between 1,500 and 2,000, but that a month, it's kind of like, oh, yeah. and i think a lot of people will reason then. i'll take that and on the side, and i'm like, no. that's not what i started my business. i ended up sending them the quote, and then a week later, contacting them again saying, i'm sorry. i thought about this. it's not the right time currently for me to collaborate. yeah. because i know you need to think long term. you need to think long term. don't do this. you'll get stuck, and then other references will come up and recommendations and so on, and and you'll go where you don't wanna be. Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. Speaker 2: that is an example of low purpose, high passion. so it is possible. Speaker 1: yeah. i'll just i just have to share another example of of my son. uh, just recently, he needed to look for an internship, and he's a a graphic designer in, you know, in school. and and so he didn't have a a spot until, like, the very last minute, like, two weeks before it's he was supposed to start. got a lot of no's. and then, uh, a coach that he's working with pushed him to accept this offer where it was more like according to him, it was more more like a coffee shop. and he's like, i'm gonna hate it. it's the worst. he was like, i don't wanna be there. and and then us parents, we had to kind of, like, you know, make this decision. well, do we take that risk, um, that he says no to this one, the only thing he has? or do we also think long term and think, well, he can keep looking and who knows? maybe he'll find something that he's really passionate about and it's gonna be great. it's gonna give him great references. and so, yeah, in the end, he did find, like, his dream position. it's actually on the on the website. i had to laugh at it said, like, we only work with humane projects. i'm like, there you go. and so yeah. but just having holding that uncertainty, right, in this case, as parents, there's no money involved. but holding that uncertainty and and say no to something is is really, really difficult and even more so if it brings in, you know, a certain amount of money. so, yeah. Speaker 2: add on to the equation in my case that i am a sole widowed parent with a mortgage and a son, and i still sit on. yeah. i think for me, there's two things to keep into account, and this is an exercise that i always do when i feel that fear comes up and takes over because we start making fear based decisions. Speaker 1: yeah. Speaker 2: at that point, one, a lot of it has to do with trust the process, trust yourself, you will be fine, which already is a really hard one. but then if i notice, oh, there's a fear coming up, like, will i be able to pay my bills? will i this? i go back every single time to wait. what is the worst thing that can happen? mhmm. and in the end, if you start breaking it down, like, really breaking it down, kinda like, well, that no other project comes up, and then i'm gonna have to look for a job again and leave my business behind. that's not such a bad thing. so it kind of tones the risk down, and it gives me at least that's the trick i keep on doing. that's what i use when i moved countries every single time. it's like, what? wait. what's the worst that can happen? Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. and then you realize that's the worst thing. it's like there's much worse things than that. Speaker 2: exactly. yeah. and then you go ahead and you do it anyway. and, um, i have to say five years later, um, i'm very, very happy. i took that decision that day of saying no and and paving my way further on into the purpose Speaker 1: one. yeah. because we're we're creating with every yes, we're creating an ecosystem for ourselves. right? and the minute you say yes to the wrong thing, well, that's the beginning of your ecosystem. and then more and more and more of these offerings will come your way, and soon enough, you're trapped in that thing. so yeah. so important. okay. so we have the the four quadrants. we have the compass, uh, and then you said, well, that's really the beginning of thinking about partnerships. so it's kind of like an analysis that you do before you step into partnership, um, mode. so once you have this awareness, what do we do next? Speaker 2: well, there's a a couple of things because for me, um, it's not, oh, yeah. now i'm gonna find the partner and that was that. um, it's a bit slower than that. right. you've got certain phases as well, like, um, values that you need and need to figure out. now what i also say is i know people going into partnerships works best if you're already clear on your very own purpose, call it ikigai, whatever it is. if it's not, what i did learn very fast is kind of, well, it's actually by doing that you'll figure it out. you can go into, i don't know, how many online videos, um, and so on to figure it out, but it's also by doing an actual project that you figure things out. um, so the next one from there is kind of like, what are my principles? um, so there's actually five. there's trust. there's shared values. there's shared impact goals because if you go into a partnership, obviously, you need to make sure and i'm not talking money. i'm not talking just like, oh, profit is in is a goal. no. i'm talking beyond the money. like, what is it that the two of us want to gain out of this? yeah. profustrating, like, the balance of return. and then you mentioned it before the, um, the people that kind of go make a million dollars in three days. yeah. even though i talk about profit, this is not gonna happen in three days. right. so slow growth is is another one. Speaker 1: yeah. i love that. so, uh, again, trust, shared values, shared impact goals, and shared impact goals, again, are bigger than just the project that we're creating. right? it's like, you know, what is this impacting in the world, the work that we're doing together? Speaker 2: i think it's really important to know that because i've seen that partnership is yet another word that sometimes for me what it means. and when i speak about partnerships, it's actually all co creation mode. it's not you have your business. i have mine. let's collaborate. that's a collaboration. so all partnerships are collapse, but all collaborations are definitely not partnerships. a partnership for me goes deeper than that. it's kind of like, let's create a business or a project together. doesn't have to be a business, but it can be a project or something. but we co create this. like, we do this together. so hence, well, what are our shared impact goals then? and impact goals, again, for us, but also remembering purpose. what do we wanna reach? what's the impact we wanna create together on everybody else? Speaker 1: yeah. i love the distinction you make between collabs and partnerships. i think there could probably be also collaborations with shared impact goals, but they're time restricted, where a partnership to me feels like more open Speaker 2: long term. Speaker 1: long term. right? yeah. Speaker 2: yeah. yeah. definitely. yeah. no. definitely. i think in each and every collaboration, even, um, for me, for and then it comes on on the shared values. i very much know what my nonnegotiables are. and my nonnegotiables are so strong that i even do that when i accept a client. mhmm. um, so it's not just towards it's clients, collaborations, and partners. so it's actually everything. um, but, yes, for collaborations, that is also really important. yeah. Speaker 1: i'm i'm actually collaborating right now with, uh, for my new program, uh, sell how to sell in 2026 and beyond with with this group expert, small group expert, uh, carrie dobson, and we're recording our collaboration prep. and in the last call, we, um, she took me through these questions on the collaboration. and one of them that i think is is good to add here is she asked me what are your concerns about this collaboration? right? what are you worried about for us working together? um, and i think it's so important to talk about that and, you know yeah. with vulnerability, speak about our fears. do they have to do with the ego? do they have to do with being worried about who knows what? but address that. and and and then it feels like, oh, we talk it's kinda like what's the worst thing that could happen. right? it's like, oh, here are the concerns. we talked about them, and now we can build, uh, on that. Speaker 2: i think as well, um, what i've noticed as well is at times and i think the same thing happens with concerns. you think you know. you think before going into a partnership or a collab, you think you know what your nonnegotiable is and what your main concerns are until you go into partnerships. the only way to learn or collabs is do that. Speaker 1: right. Speaker 2: because you'll notice, like, oh, i thought this was actually my nonnegotiable, but this bugs me more or this upsets me more or this so you get to know a lot about yourself as well as a business owner or an entrepreneur or even a professional in general when you start collaborating. Speaker 1: yeah. if anything, you grow yourself. maybe you won't grow your business with this one, but you grow yourself. and then you can apply next time. yeah. Speaker 2: it's a really important one as well to allow yourself to make mistakes. it's fine from every single partnership. i've i've had partnerships that went totally wrong. i learned a lot from them. it was brilliant. Speaker 1: yeah. Speaker 2: very grateful for that thing going wrong. yeah. but that is Speaker 1: i mean, we started out with a partnership and and or collab and and that specific small project, well, it didn't go so well. but where he's still here. you know, Speaker 2: we're still collaborating. so yeah. exactly. Speaker 1: so so what are some ways that people can test, um, partnerships? so maybe it is those collabs. is that the step the first step? Speaker 2: yes. yeah. um, there's one recommendation i always do, um, and i get that it depends a little bit on on the type of business you have or, uh, the project you're working on. but if there's one recommend that's my way of testing it out a lot is co create a small event, however small it is. a webinar, uh, an online talk, a get together, it doesn't matter. just yeah. because when you set up an event, however small it is, actually, a lot of things are needed. like, what are the goals of this event? how are we going to promote this? um, who are we talking to? what's our audience? what what are we gonna get out of this, how are we gonna set up, what are the tools we're gonna use. um, all of that teaches you so much about one another. because when you set up an event, it's kind of like, oh, yeah. you're the techie one. i'm not. oh, you wanna have that audience? no. i was actually thinking of another audience, and that's where the difference has come up most definitely. like, for me, that's my go to to see, is this gonna work? let's test. and i think in a lot of businesses or or even for solopreneurs, it's actually very feasible to do that. everybody can do a webinar or something. and collaborating on that is an interesting exercise yeah. as a small test. Speaker 1: and i i think you're right when you said, you know, when you asked people where they're at in the when you hosted that workshop in the community, they already knew who they are. yes. so that is very helpful to go into partnership. because if you are still at the stage where well, first of all, you haven't done any inner work, but you're also very new in your business. there's a lot of doubt. right? and so that's why i see most people go, oh, don't wanna do any collaborations. i'm not even sure what i can bring to this collaboration. so in a way, it's like, well, that's that's the challenge, though. it's like work on that because you will grow as as you are having these collaborations. Speaker 2: when it comes to because we crossed over right into the alignment phase with the test, um, because, actually, there's stages to creating a partnership. um, so one, there's the principles you kind of need to think about in advance, but then for me, a lot of networking nowadays has a negative connotation. once again, i'm like, let's make it a positive one then. um, i'm not changing the words. i'll give it another connotation. in my case, yes, we put slow networking in front of it. um, the first step is you're solo. it's just you. start thinking about you, what do you want, those principles. and then you go into networking. now networking for me is very different than connecting. the word connection and connecting nowadays as well. hey. wanna connect with me? hey. wanna connect with me? mhmm. Speaker 1: and then nothing happens. i made Speaker 2: yeah. exactly. it's like, yeah. sure. let's be in touch because networking is just a first contact. it's, hi. this is me, and this is you. and then you can decide, do i go into creating a connection with that person where you start to get to know each other a bit more? you start nurturing the contact. that's when you start connecting. and then once you've connected enough, that's when i think you can well, that's when you can go into maybe we should cocreate something small. let's see. and that's the alignment phase. you need that before going into a full blown old partnership to check, like, is this right for us yeah. for the both. and then you step into a partnership, actually. Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. yeah. that's good. you know, we we we're calling this episode, how can purposeful partnerships turn your passion into profit. so so far, we've talked a lot about purpose and partnership. let's talk about profit. so how where does the money come in? and, yes, we agree. okay. it's slow. um, but we do have to have this money conversation eventually. so when do we when do we have the do we start with the money conversation? and then, yeah, how can we turn our passion into profit? Speaker 2: so for me, um, the partnerships is a vehicle to get to the profit for different reasons. lots of us are indeed solopreneurs or small businesses. um, so even more, in the purpose realm, lots of us feel alone. that's why there's so many communities. that's why your community exists. that's why mine exists. so there are so through a partnership, it has several advantages. it's not one plus one is two. it's one plus one is three. and that comes to the impact you're creating. that comes to the profit you're creating because you put your experience together. you put your audience together. you put so many things together that that then automatically makes you stronger. you strengthen one another. um, the money conversation obviously needs to be had because this is another thing people misunderstand lots of times. not every partnership is a fifty fifty when it comes to money. you can go into partnerships saying, this is a thirty seventy. whatever. it needs to feel right for you. that's the most important thing. and what i've seen, funnily enough, is also that i recommend very much partnering with people that might be passionate about totally different things work wise, like task wise than i am that you're complementary. so i love stuff marketing related. i hate the writing up reports type of things. and i co created a brand with somebody that doesn't really like the marketing side of things. but, yeah, more excited about the paperwork. that was a brilliant partnership because that was the one thing that i maybe couldn't always give to my clients, and he had that the other way around. so it's kind of like, let's combine this because we have shared impact, all shared values, and so on, and we complement one another. and that automatically led to a lot more profit because we were capable of doing certain projects together and have more reach, um, which automatically translates into. and i very much realized if i should have done this by myself, then either i need to pay somebody to kind of do this work for me, but i can't yet. so it's kind of like this it's just me. how do i tackle all this? so it strengthens you a lot, and and that's where the profit lies. i feel a lot of solopreneurs are just trying to do it all by themselves even though they're part of a community and so on. and it's kind of like, well, why don't you, like, create a partnership somehow? yeah. besides what you keep doing, which is perfectly fine. i mean, you can keep doing your own project, but it'll it'll really get you into into more profit. Speaker 1: more profit. and and and maybe we can also say that profit is not always money. profit is also more time to be human, more joy because you're working with someone who is very aligned. um, what else? more fun. so, yeah, profit can take many, many different versions. Speaker 2: more energy as well. i said, for me, it it's it's brilliant that there is somebody that absolutely loves reading these really, to me, boring reports and outlines that our clients sometimes ask, and and they're like, this is fun. and i'm like, yay. Speaker 1: yeah. and and vice versa, they're like, oh, i can't understand how she thinks this other thing is fun. but exactly. exactly. that's why we're Speaker 2: all different. so for me, that's priceless Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. Speaker 2: to be fair. because it's so and i think it's an important thing that people have to see in partnerships as well. it's it's yeah. what do you like doing that i might not like as much and the other way around? and is that compliment can we use that together? yeah. and it's amazing. goes beyond money, obviously. but for me, profit is also something i think this came about as well because i noticed so many solopreneurs in the purpose realm struggling with money or struggling with profit. one, i still feel due to limiting beliefs and the negative connotation money has in society as in the billionaires of this world are all bad people, and they're creating the wrong impact and so on. and i even myself heard myself saying lots of times in the beginning, like, just need to pay my bills and i'm fine and it's all good and, like, kind of down i don't know how to say that in english. Speaker 1: yeah. play small. right? exactly. exactly. yeah. Speaker 2: and then i came to the realization that that is not what i want. that, um, i feel the more money and more profit, and i'm just talking money wise. it's good to have all those add ons, obviously. the more impact i'll be able to create because that'll make it possible for me to hire people aligned with my values as well to maybe even invest in companies that are doing a really good job or help out solopreneurs. so there's so many things added to that. but for me, it's kind of like, let's talk about profit because it is important. we need to make profit. it's fine to make profit. it's fine even to make good money. it's fine. Speaker 1: yeah. we need more good people make good money. right? exactly. the good people will always bring back the money to where we need it. Speaker 2: i'm gonna use that, sarah. yeah. we need more money. good people making good money. yeah. i love that. yeah. Speaker 1: i think that's a a nice quote to to wrap up here, but, um, i'm glad we we yeah. we need to talk about the money. so that that is just and i think i think it's part of that vulnerable conversation also at the beginning of a partnership, you know? Speaker 2: yes. Speaker 1: it's like, let's have this money conversation. Speaker 2: so exactly. Speaker 1: yeah. maybe as a as a final question, if someone, you know, has never worked either on a collab or a partnership, like, what's a what's an easy first step for them to to do? Speaker 2: i think the the first one is if you're still remembering the phases. right? so low networking connection and so on. a lot of people are like, oh, so i need to get myself into the right room as a first step. yes and no because there's one before. take up your phone or your linkedin or whatever it is and see who's already there within your everybody has a network. don't tell me you don't have a network. everybody has a network, but you might feel that it's not the right network. but maybe there's someone in there that you can actually go to and talk and not as much as in to get in the networking or connection stage. if it's somebody that you feel might be aligned with you, then, yes, start connecting with them. start nurturing that connection. but if it's not, they might be connected. and i think a lot of people are scared to ask for introductions. Speaker 1: yeah. Speaker 2: and for me, a really important step is ask for an introduction. if somebody is already there that you know or you look up to and isn't that purpose realm and ask for an intro. if you see i do that all the time. if i see somebody's connected and i'm like, well, i i would love to connect with that person or get to know that person. and i ask. i'm like, could you possibly introduce me? yeah. and what's the worst can happen? they say no. yeah. that's fine. if that's not possible, then get yourself into the right room. and in my case, i didn't find the right room, so i basically created the right room yeah. which is also a possibility. yeah. you're like, well, the right room does not exist, and i'll just create it. and i started with the slow networking of it because for me, that was kind of like, let's start like this. Speaker 1: yeah. nobody else is talking about that. so let me let me do it myself. yeah. yeah. i think it's it's it's so it's so key to, um, also, like you mentioned, connect with someone, but we can also just see, for example, what events are they attending. and and then, you know, kinda get into those events. and and then you're like, all of a sudden you notice, oh, there's many more of my people, and i'm not alone. yeah. Speaker 2: it is exactly because, um, if you go on linkedin in the beginning, obviously, i came from the corporate world. so my linkedin was filled with maybe not my crowd or not exactly. and, funnily enough, the events that came up Speaker 1: yeah. not the corporate team. right. Speaker 2: then i started looking for them, and now it's a constant show up of things i could now it's kind of like, no. stop. Speaker 1: there's too many. i can't attend them all. yeah. Speaker 2: and, um, but that's that's how you do it. Speaker 1: that's where Speaker 2: where you start. and then even if it is because i i understand that there's a lot of introvert people as well for anybody listening. like, oh, i don't wanna then just join a webinar. mhmm. but going through the people that are there, and then afterwards connect with them on linkedin via message like, hey. i saw you in this webinar. would love to kind of stay in touch on here and start the conversation in writing. Speaker 1: yeah. it's Speaker 2: not always about showing up in person and having to speak face to face. there are other ways as well. Speaker 1: yep. great. great ways to start collaborating more. i think it's really yeah. it's it's where we're heading. i can see that it's, you know, when you started, it was kinda like this new thing, but now you hear a lot more people talking about it, which is great, which is great. and and i think it goes together with knowing who you are because then you show up in partnership with your boundaries, with your, you know, with your clear expectations. and and that makes a really good partnership. Speaker 2: exactly. Speaker 1: yeah. great. uh, that was awesome. kim, please do share where people can find you. tell us about your community as well. Speaker 2: um, i just launched and haven't really sent it to anybody, but i finally created a little small website, um, just with my name, kimdekoster.com. because everything about me is on there. like, all of my brands, the projects i'm involved in, i'm like, i need this little thing where everybody so that's one. great. and i think all the info is is Speaker 1: is on Speaker 2: that site. yeah. okay. is on that website, basically. Speaker 1: well, maybe what you can do is send me, you know, the compass, if you can send me that, and i'll include that in the show notes. so in case people are like, i don't know what she's talking about, they can go and look Speaker 2: it up. i will. yeah. i'll i'll take out that page because, um, by now, there's a playbook, obviously, as well. um, and so it comes with a little like, you can do the exercise by yourself. um, i'll take out that page and and send it over to her so people have that compass. Speaker 1: yeah. that's great. and if they if they can download it on your website, well, that, you know, if you make that available, then let me know and i'll link to that as well. Speaker 2: i will. perfect. Speaker 1: thanks so much for being a guest, kim. Speaker 2: thank you for having me, ovelyn. it was fun. thank you. Speaker 1: thank you.

9/6/25 • 51:26

I'm joined once again by Kerry Dobson as we explore the Doing, Knowing and Saying aspects of the new 'How to Sell in 2026 & Beyond' program. If you're curious about the 'How to Sell in 2026 & Beyond' program send me an email to sarah@humane.marketing with the words 'Inside Scoop' and I'll send you the first draft of the outline of the program.

9/5/25 • 41:12

In this heartfelt and honest conversation, I'm joined once again by Kerry Dobson as we explore the VIP process of the new 'How to Sell in 2026 & Beyond' program. We explore the vibe, ideal client and program promise of the upcoming program. If you're curious about the 'How to Sell in 2026 & Beyond' program send me an email to sarah@humane.marketing with the words 'Inside Scoop' and I'll send you the first draft of the outline of the program. In the next convo we'll talk about the Doing part of the program

8/28/25 • 28:49

In this soulful episode, I'm joined by healing guide Betty Cottam Bertels to explore how the blocks we face in business often stem from unhealed childhood wounds. We talk about why part of us might resist the success we say we want, how patterns like perfectionism and procrastination are actually protective, and how tools like hypnosis and parts work can help us shift deeply and quickly. This conversation is an invitation for quietly rebellious entrepreneurs to bring more compassion, clarity, and ease into their business — by starting with the healing within. In this episode we discussed: How Betty's journey into inner healing began with an unexpected emotional release and how it now shapes her work with entrepreneurs Why feelings of "stuckness" in business are often rooted in unprocessed childhood experiences or early beliefs The subtle ways our unhealed inner child shows up in business through patterns like procrastination, perfectionism, and people-pleasing How to "update the software" of old protective patterns by dialoguing with the parts of us still running outdated beliefs Why deep healing doesn't have to take years, and how working at the subconscious level can lead to fast, lasting shifts How hypnosis helps quiet the conscious mind so we can access and release the real root of our blocks What it feels like to start running your business from a healed, grounded adult self, with stronger boundaries and more ease How aligned, empowered decision-making becomes possible when we're no longer operating from wounded places One gentle first step you can take this week if you recognize yourself in this conversation A sneak peek of what Betty will guide us through in the live workshop on September 3rd, 5pm CET, 11am EST. Watch this episode on Youtube -- Speaker 2: hello, humane marketers. welcome back to the humane marketing podcast. the place to be for the generation that cares. this is a show where we talk about running your business in a way that feels good to you, is aligned with your values, and also resonates with today's conscious customers because it's humane, ethical, and non pushy. i'm sarah senecroce, your hippie turned conscious business coach for quietly rebellious entrepreneurs and change makers, mama bear of the humane marketing circle, and renegade author of marketing like we're human, selling like we're human, and soon also my third book, business like we're human. if after listening to the show for a while, you're ready to move on to the next level and start implementing and would welcome a community of like minded, quietly rebellious entrepreneurs who discuss with transparency what works and what doesn't work in business, then we'd love to welcome you in our humane marketing circle. if you're picturing your typical facebook group, let me paint a new picture for you. this is a closed community of like minded entrepreneurs from all over the world who come together in two meetups per month to hold each other accountable and build their business in a conscious and sustainable way. we all share with transparency and vulnerability what works and what doesn't work in our business so that you can figure out what works for you, instead of keep throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash circle. twice per year, i host my signature program, the marketing like we're human, aka the client resonator program live. in a deep dive into the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala, you will learn to market from within. this program is for you if you want and need to get more clients, but want to share your message in an ethical and humane way. if you want to make a difference with your work. if you are just starting out, or if you have been in business for a while, but haven't really found the marketing activities that work for you. or also, if you are pivoting your business from business as usual to your life's work and want to radically change the way you get clients. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash program. and finally, if you prefer one on one support from me, my humane business coaching could be just what you need, whether it's for your marketing, sales, general business building, or help with your big idea like writing a book. i'd love to share my brain and my heart with you together with my almost twenty years business experience and help you grow a sustainable business that is joyful and sustainable. if you love this podcast, wait until i show you my mama bear qualities as my one on one client. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash coaching. Speaker 0: hi, betty. how are you today? Speaker 1: hello, sarah. thanks so much for having me. i'm very excited and simultaneously in a slight bit of discomfort in my lower back because i've been not looking after myself and sitting too much. so, my body's reminding me today. so, yeah. but very happy to be with you. Speaker 0: yeah. it's good to have you. and yes, after our conversation, you need to go for a walk yeah. barefoot, ideally. yeah. that sounds good. wonderful. we're we're gonna go deep, again. i love going deep. so i i suggest yeah. we just go straight into it. and and maybe you can tell people, listeners a little bit about how you got into this inner healing and making that your focus for your business and yeah, kind of the work you do. Speaker 1: yeah. thank you. so when i where to start? you never know how far back to go. i think i'll do a very quick zoom over, a bird's eye view of my earlier life, just to give a context. i think this is maybe similar to you, sarah. i'm not entirely sure, but i was very much, yeah, i think people would, the easiest way of describing it is a hippie. yeah. you know? so like this kind of travelling mentality. i never wanted money, success, business. you know, these were words that were very foreign to me and actually words i would run from in the other direction. and what i spent most of my life doing, well, early life doing, was travelling and getting jobs that i could easily quit. that was my priority. raising enough money so i could go to india, or so i could go travelling, have amazing experiences, and never really once did i think about growing anything of any meaning. and then i met my partner, rob, and fast forward, and we're expecting a baby. and we were living in barcelona on a very shoestring budget at this point. you know, we both we were both teaching english as a foreign language. and, and suddenly we're expecting a baby. and he was the same as me, you know, very kind of shoestring traveller, musician. we'd both been in bands and festival lifestyle, this kind of thing. and so suddenly we're starting a family. and this is like a new feeling, right, of like, oh, now i want stability. like, i'm aware of wanting to create something stable and grow something secure because it's not just about me anymore. so, i'd always been interested in therapy. but you know, it was very difficult to know there's so many types of therapy out there that whenever i thought about, oh, i could train to be a therapist, it just was overwhelming. i could never make a decision. it felt like there's just all these different things. and then one day i heard a podcast with marissa pia, if you know her. she's the- no. so she styles herself as a kind of celebrity therapist. and really, the reason that she's made it so big is that the method she's created is incredibly powerful and it really works. anyway, i heard her talking on a podcast and she did this hypnosis kind of guided meditation thing about upgrading the child. the idea of this being that you're kind of going back in time and you're taking the earlier version of yourself and you're bringing them to live with you, you know, in your own home as an adult. and you're gonna look after them now and they're safe now and i'm upgrading you, showing you everything that's available to you now that wasn't available to you then. and you show them all the technology and all the amazing things that they couldn't have possibly dreamt of. anyway, so suddenly i'm listening to this podcast. i was in the garden potting, i remember. one baby, i had two babies by this point. one was upstairs napping. and, suddenly i'm in floods of tears, sarah. and i didn't know that, like, i didn't know that i needed healing. i thought that my childhood had been great. you know, it was pretty i thought, you know, it it was avarice. you know, there was nothing no capital t trauma i was aware of. and so i didn't have this desperate need to heal. anyway, i heard about marissa and i had this experience and i'm crying. and suddenly i know this is what i have to do. yeah. and so but it's so funny because i had so little well, now i can see i had so little self worth that i wouldn't even invest and so little money, right, having come from having nothing, really. you know, we were just scraping by and making ends meet and we somehow managed to get enough for a deposit to buy a little house. and, anyway, we didn't have a lot. but i didn't even want to invest the money to have a session on myself before doing this. i was always somebody who put everyone else's needs first and i imagine many of your listeners can relate to that. and so i signed my partner up for a session where i said, you know, you should try Speaker 0: this.' that's so funny. they're like, 'okay, you should go. yeah, you should go. i can Speaker 1: track that. that was a pattern in my life where i take care of everybody else. but i hadn't noticed that when realised it was a problem, if that makes sense. anyway, so i signed up. i did the course. we dug deep to invest. it's not a cheap training program. and i, have lost track of the question that you asked me. but Speaker 0: yeah. just kind of how how you got into it and and yeah. and your own healing journey. so you touched on that. okay. good. Speaker 1: it's, like, on track still. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. this this this notion of not really knowing that we need healing right. is probably something that you encounter a lot with with clients. right? that you're somehow stuck, but we don't know why we're stuck. Speaker 1: yes, exactly, sarah. you're bang on, really. and so many, well, so many people feel this kind of energetic barrier somehow. you know, that it's just not possible. but we'll we'll come back to that, in a moment. but what yeah. so i signed up and i did the training course, and i went to london. and i'm in this room with about 70 different mainly women who'd all signed up for this training course. and of course and and i was thinking, i've got here on the skin of my teeth. i don't deserve my place in the room. i'm not like them. i'm different. i've i've never had any kind of success in my life. i'm, you know, i'm a complete outsider, and i just couldn't believe i was even there. i couldn't believe they'd even accepted me onto the course, which now looking back is is bonkers. it's crazy. but that's that is how my core beliefs were. you know, a lot one of the when i finally did do a lot of the healing that i had to do because i was training in it, i had to do the healing on myself. otherwise, i never would have done. i was the one when marissa was leading the sessions, and we were all in hypnosis, like 70 of us, everyone's sitting there, you know, drooped, head drooped, and she's walking around and she's guiding this. the session, i was always the one crying the loudest, like sobbing and wailing, so much so that i was distracting everyone else. but i never had a sense that anything needed healing. it's so funny. and then when once i started to understand the power of this method, and honestly it's so powerful, you know, i was seeing in the training, i was seeing some live sessions and some recorded sessions of marissa, you know, working with a woman, for example, who'd shattered so many bones in her body after a car accident, she couldn't stand. and then by the end of the session, she's standing. you know, this is like miraculous stuff i was witnessing. and my entire world view had to reorganise itself whilst i was doing this training programme. like, everything just reorganised itself in my head. i and yeah. maybe i'll pause Speaker 0: for a minute. yeah. in case Speaker 1: you have Speaker 0: a question. so so i'm happy that you shared how you got into this. and and i think what we now want to shift into is, like, yeah, the actual inner work. right? because that's what this, podcast episode we decided is going to be about. and so before i mentioned that a lot of us entrepreneurs yeah. you said there's this energetic block, but we don't know what it is. and so what you're saying, i think you're going to explain to me how it's different from inner child work, but you did mention to bring the inner child to the present and kind of like nurture it. so, yeah, tell us a little bit, i guess, tell us a little bit first how and why so often these blockages are going back to childhood. Speaker 1: yeah. so it's not necessarily childhood that we go back to. it could be anything. okay. it could be a moment in your twenties. it could be a past life thing. it could be an ancestral thing. and now this is where some people have different beliefs around this. so i just tend to go with what the client presents and what they understand is happening. and you know, when we get into this relaxed state of hypnosis, we it's like we just tune out the noise. and we can really get very focused on what's real. and everything that's ever happened to us is is still there. we can access it when we get into this very relaxed, very focused state of hypnosis. and, you know, what i've come to understand is the body the human beings, we want to heal. you know? we know how to do it. we just need to decide, i think, is the first thing. so, i've i've forgotten the question you asked me again, sarah. Speaker 0: yeah. like, if it always happens in the childhood or how do we know Speaker 1: yeah. right. Speaker 0: where yeah. Speaker 1: yeah. so the reason that so much of this does go back to childhood is that between the ages of naught to seven, when we come into the world, we are a blank canvas. we and we have to come in like that because we have to learn the ways of our family, of our people, of our community. we have to be able but but because we need to fit in, you know, our subconscious mind, its job is to keep us alive effectively. you know, this is like a very it goes back to serious survival mechanisms. so it needs to learn what's dangerous. it needs to learn what to be afraid of. and you could that could be about certain animals or plants if you go back. but now it's like we we learn different threats from our parents. you know, what what do they find threatening? what do they find scary? we just we just have a sixth sense about that, really. we just download that automatically. for good reason. because we're trying to stay alive. part of us, the subconscious, is just trying to keep us alive. yeah. that's the question. Speaker 0: and so i guess so what i know from inner child work is that a lot of the the coping mechanisms we create are there to protect us. right? and so i think what what your work is also or or what we decided we wanted to focus on is is this idea of how can we will open these blockages so that we can really reach our full potential without having, yeah, our inner child keeping us small and saying, oh, but you can't do that. it's too scary. yeah. so talk yeah. take us into that. so how Speaker 1: we do it? how how we stop the child from having control? yeah. okay. so the first step is we have to decide that's what we're going to do. first, we have to know that there's a problem because, funnily enough, i've worked with people who didn't acknowledge the problem. and, of course, we can't we can't get anywhere without that. they have to be have a very real sense of what's not working and what they want it to look like when it's removed, when the block is removed. and then yeah. so the rtt, i mean, this is the method i learned from marisa peer, rapid transformational therapy. this method is incredible. so it's a type of hypnotherapy, but it blends a lot of different modalities together. you know, inner child yeah, this kind of inner child work and parts therapy, like internal family systems, if people are familiar with that. and, a bit of tapping. there's all sorts of yeah. she's just kind of taken a load of modalities and put them together to make this super therapy. okay. so how does it work? so we need to know what's stopping us. and then what we do is we ask the subconscious mind to take us back to the root cause of that block or that issue. and what happens is, say somebody's, you know, so if we're talking about business people, often the most common challenges are fears, if you like. can be visibility. you know, a lot of people come to me just so scared to be seen. so scared to be themselves. and they're presenting this artificial personality or they're presenting just like everyone else. but we know that we have to bring our full selves to the equation so that our people can find us. but that's so scary for so many because we've got this need to be liked and to fit in. and that, as we can see, goes back to childhood when it was this is such a deeply human thing. if you go back to tribal times, we needed to fit in because that was safety. safety in numbers. if you don't fit in with the tribe, you're exiled. you're not safe. you might get eaten by a tiger. this is a serious thing as far as the subconscious mind goes. the subconscious mind has zero sense of humor. so it takes everything so literally. so if i see somebody for visibility, let's say, and i would we'd always start by installing the core belief. so things like, i'm worthy, i deserve good things, i belong. you know, these are the things that are so central and affect so many of us. most people have this underlying belief, like, i'm not good enough. and so we need to attend to that. and once we've attended to that, we can we can look at this visibility wound. and what happens is so so often that we go back to school. when when we ask the client's mind to take us back to the root cause, they go back there. and i count them, you know, so that what actually is happening is they've they've got their eyes closed, they're lying down, and i'm saying, you know, on the count of five, four, three, two, one, you're going back. and what can you see? what can you hear? what can you feel? what are you experiencing in this moment? and then they're bringing to mind, a moment from their earlier life. and so often with a visibility wound, it might be that they're at school, they might be on stage. i had one recently, one lady, she was on stage, and it was just so uncomfortable and so unnatural. she just had these very bright lights shining in her face. and it wasn't, like, major trauma in this instance. it was just, like, we're looking for what we tell ourselves as a result of what happened. so it's not even about what happened. it might have been a very traumatic experience, but it might not have been. and each person will respond differently. so we're really looking for the meaning. we're looking for what i told myself after this event. and in this lady's she's a very successful woman. she's a doctor. and she's come to me to start her own business, and she felt so terrified of speaking about natural health, which is what she she wanted to talk about, the mind body connection. but she felt like this complete blockage in her throat around speaking up, around being, you know, just such fear that people would shut her down. and what we went back to, one of the scenes was, yeah, this being on stage and it just being so uncomfortable. and what happened as a result of that was we say to ourselves things like, 'i'd rather die than do that again', or, you know, i'm just what do we say? well, there's all sorts of phrases like that that become common. self Speaker 0: shaming and basically negative self talk. Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. and just that that was painful somehow. Speaker 0: that's a mini trauma basically. yeah. you know, that that we then some times blow up in our own minds. right. yes. i remember so clearly i was in a in a kind of like a mastermind group and we were talking about all these kind of things and inner work and and people were sharing, like, real trauma, like losing their dance or, or, or. yeah. all kinds of usually related to some kind of grief. right. so i was like, well, i didn't experience any of that. like you, you're like, you know, i'm like, i don't have any trauma in my life. and then i started to make the difference between trauma with the big t and the mini traumas that we almost, like, blow up ourselves in our Speaker 1: yeah. Speaker 0: our emotions as well. right? it's it's not always something that happens. like yeah. you said, it's just, like, how we lived it. and that then does in our heads and and tells us that was not safe. Speaker 1: you don't Speaker 0: wanna go there again. and so what you're saying is through the hypnosis, that's what you can, yeah, heal. Speaker 1: yeah. well, when you uncover it, when you understand it, it suddenly makes sense. then you go, oh, i see why i don't wanna do that. i see why i don't wanna go live on facebook right. because of this experience of when i was on stage or or what people said to me when i was a child when i was on stage. and then you can go, 'that is completely irrelevant. that's not going to happen now.' so then we do this thing called it's not me'. we just draw a line in the sand. we say, 'okay. well then i was five.' and that made perfect sense to respond in that way. and now i'm an adult and i don't need now i'm trying to grow my business and blah blah blah blah. and you give all the reasons why you do want to do it. and then we get into this kind of juicy and yeah, this is my favorite bit at the moment. i'm really enjoying doing this parts work where we can scan around the body because these traumas, these things, live in the body. and so in the hypnosis, we can find them. we can locate where the block is. and when it's i'm gesturing to my throat here when it's a thing around speaking out, when people have, you know, and sometimes we go back to witch, persecutions, all sorts of things. like sometimes people experience a hand around their throat. and you might wonder where that comes from, but that's not the point. it might be that something like that happened or not, but the point is it's there. and then we dialogue with it. it's so easy. we just ask it, why are you there? what happened?' and then we explain. and almost always, this part is trying to help. it's trying to keep you alive. it says, oh, i need to protect betty from speaking up because she did that once and she died, or she almost died, or if we're talking about past life stuff. or it was just really uncomfortable, or i just promised i'd never do it again, or i got beaten. there's all these things that it can be big t trauma as well. that does happen too. Speaker 0: especially in past lives, right, don't we? Speaker 1: oh, yeah. all sorts of things. but the thing to note is 99.9% of the time, these parts are trying to help us. they're trying to protect us. and they're they've just got this you know, if it's been there since you were two or even in the womb, some so often people go back to being in the womb. and so they they they haven't got many options available to them about how to survive or be good or be liked. but, you know, what they can do is create this kind of protective mechanism. but, to stop them from saying the wrong thing or, because it wasn't safe. and so what we do is it's so simple. we just give it a voice, sarah. we just say and then we say, ah, thank you. i see why you are there now. and your only intention was to protect me. hey, i don't need that anymore. i'm not two. i'm an adult. and then we say, you can go now. and you know, this is the most exciting part because so often i can see when the part leaves. i can see it in them. there's just this relaxation, this relief. and sometimes it doesn't leave, but we reintegrate it. it wants to stay, so we find it a better job to do. you know, i just go with Speaker 0: i'm just laughing because, yeah, i just need to share this little story because i just literally yesterday until yesterday, i didn't know what ifs stood for. so internal family systems therapy or something like that. Speaker 1: exactly. yeah. Speaker 0: and so, so, we have a community and emily, in the community, during our expo, she hosted a workshop around, meet, meet all your parts or something like that. and so i, was privileged to have a mini session with her around these parts. and i, and i, what i brought up is that i always have the struggle between ambition and enthusiasm. so naturally, i'm a very ambitious person. but over the last five or so years, i wanna come to more transform it into enthusiasm and just, you know, be more in the flow and not be so hard, soft and, etcetera. and so, yeah, she was guiding me through this mini session. and then the the visual i saw, and i'm not usually a visual person, but the visual i saw was that ambition was like this friend who moved to another country. we're still friends, and i can still reach her and we can still talk over the phone or zoom. but she there's a distance between us now. and i felt such a huge relief that i can tap into the ambition if i need to talk to her. right. but it's no longer so close. and so that yeah. that that's that was my discovery with parts work yesterday, and it was just great. Speaker 1: i love that. what a what a coincidence. synchronicity. synchronicity. right. that you had that yesterday. it's amazing. yeah. really. and, you know, just yesterday i saw a 73 year old man who was struggling. he was a healer as well, and he was just really struggling to he had an audience and he was struggling to show up for them. and we just we discovered there was a part that had been there since he was two that was, like his parents had left him too long on his own. and he had this abandonment thing. and and that was that had come in when he was two, and it was still there. and and it took literally less than ten minutes, and it was gone. wow. and he felt completely different. it was in his solar plexus. and it was gone. and he said, i feel so much lighter. and he was grinning from ear to ear. he was just so happy. and so really, the parts work is very exciting. Speaker 0: so for people who are listening to this, well, first of all, we want to invite them to join us in your in our collab workshop on september 3. right? so if if you're listening and you're like, yeah. i need to i need to see betty in action, and you're you'll take us through a hypnosis. right? so yes. we'll actually do that, in the workshop. the same one. Speaker 1: yeah. the same one that i heard. when, you know, my version of the one that i Speaker 0: so we'll all be crying, but it will be a safe container. Speaker 1: yeah. Speaker 0: so, yeah, if you wanna join us for that, that's at humane.marketing/workshop. so on september 3. but if people, you know, can't join us, what would you tell them? where can they start this connection with their inner child or or their different parts? well, Speaker 1: you could go to truewealthwithbetty.com. and if you go well, i'd love to invite people i'd love to invite people in your audience if they're intrigued by my work. i offer a gift session. so would it be okay to Speaker 0: yeah. sure. Speaker 1: give the yeah. so, i mean, we can presumably, we can give the links Speaker 0: separately. i'll put the link in the show notes. yeah. Speaker 1: yeah. if you go to truewealthwithbetty.com/ work with betty, you can find a link to book a forty five minute gift session. and, yeah, i love doing those. it's so much fun. see what we can uncover in just forty five minutes. and people have incredible experiences. yeah. and just i wanted to say one final thing, sarah, if it's okay, just why i've called my website true wealth with betty. because, you know, the name just came to me, and i didn't understand it at the time. i just said, this is what i need to call it. and i didn't really know. and it's the name of my podcast too, true wealth with betty. and then i realized that, you know, for my early life, as i said, i had this, i'd never had much money. i never wanted it. but what i got was this, like, understanding that wealth is not about money. you know, wealth is about an ability to enjoy our lives. and so that is what i help people with. they come to me for business. so, you know, this niche that i'm working in is helping entrepreneurs with a big vision, who feel stuck or scared about the size of their vision. but what happens, the side effects, is where they, we always score the different things we're keeping track of, and where they've come to me with like a one or two for overall happiness, they're leaving with a nine or a 10. everything in your life, i mean, everything's holistic, isn't it? we all know that. so when you do this kind of healing work, you might come to it for your business, but your relationship will improve. you know, your your just sense of happiness and your presence and your mothering or your fathering, you know, all of it improves. it's amazing. Speaker 0: yeah. i think that's that's so close to my heart. i think i shared with you that i'm releasing the latest book business, like we're human and. and just on the last conversation for change, lisa, who was there, she was just sharing, we did a kind of a visualization around, the ubuntu tree realizing that we're all one, you know, humans, family members, ancestors, but also nature. and then she was sharing as a kind of reflection how small the business part really is in our life. if you compare it to the rest and how small of an importance we can also give it. right? yes. it has importance because we make our living with the business. but out of the big scheme of things, if you think about ubuntu and the moon and the stars and and nature and all of that, it's just a tiny thing. and, yeah, to really truly be happy, the business is just one thing, and there's all these other things involved. Speaker 1: yeah. but, yes. and i think that that, you know, when we do sort out the business so that it can be profitable, so that we can relax, you know, because so many of us are in the early stages of business. it's it's stressful, isn't it? the rollercoaster, the up and down, and will we be able to meet the bills, and will i have to give it all up, and all of that. but yeah. so when we and the other the other main focus that i do in the sessions is about our strange relationship with money, because that was my my thing. you know? this thing about money won't buy you happiness was, like, this deep rooted understanding. so those are the kinds of things that can also be unpicked with this work. and, just welcoming in ease and more fun in the business and more flow. you know, i think when we do this work and when we're operating from the adult who, let's face it, is it okay to swear? who doesn't give, you know, a damn about other people, really. you know? that you're just operating how you wanna operate. you get to do things how you you get to do it your way. you know? and so often we're stuck in these shoulds, and then business isn't fun, is it? it's fun. and when we make it our own thing, then it can be it can be fun. yeah. Speaker 0: tell people again where they can find you in the yeah. so the name of your podcast. Speaker 1: thank you. so it's truewealthwithbetty.com. and you can navigate there to the tab at the top, work with betty, and you can find the link to book a gift session if you would like to. and also, wherever you listen to your podcasts, you can find the true wealth with betty podcast. Speaker 0: wonderful. thank you so much for being here. Speaker 1: thanks for having me, sarah. i'm so excited about september. me too.

8/22/25 • 43:38

In this heartfelt and honest conversation, I'm joined once again by Kerry Dobson as we explore what it really looks like to co-create a meaningful group program. In this episode, Kerry takes me through a visualization on how it will feel like in my body, on the last day of the 'How to Sell in 2026 & Beyond' program. If you'd like to go through the visualization yourself, here's the link for the Great Group Revolution private podcast episode of the full process. If you're curious about the 'How to Sell in 2026 & Beyond' program send me an email to sarah@humane.marketing with the words 'Inside Scoop' and I'll send you the first draft of the outline of the program. In the next convo we'll start working through Kerry's VIP Process (Vibe Promise, Ideal Participant, and Program Promise.

8/15/25 • 27:35

In this inspiring episode, I'm joined by Jessica Lohmann to explore how nature can guide us back to more meaningful, ethical ways of doing business. We talk about Jessica's journey from corporate marketing to founding Marketing by Nature and Ethical Brand Marketing, and how reconnecting with nature — and ourselves — can shift not just our business practices, but our entire mindset. From animal wisdom to simple daily rituals, Jessica shows how observing and honoring the natural world can bring more flow, purpose, and integrity into the way we work. In this episode we talked about: How Jessica's frustration with harmful, manipulative marketing led her to create Marketing by Nature and Ethical Brand Marketing The connection between our disconnection from nature and many societal problems How nature — especially animals — can inspire our business and marketing practices The role of spirit animals and how Jessica uses animal wisdom (like the misunderstood hyena) to guide her marketing and business decisions Daily practices to reconnect with nature, from simply walking outside to using oracle cards and observing animals The shift in mindset needed to make time for nature, embodiment, and rest — even as entrepreneurs Watch this episode on YouTube -- Speaker 0: hey, jessica. how are you? hello? i'm fine. how are you? yes, i'm good. hot, but good. yeah. same there. yeah, really looking forward to this, to this commerce conversation around marketing and nature. it's funny, it's like probably a year and a half or so that it comes up all the time, this topic of nature. and so when i started to see your linkedin posts, i'm like, yeah, she's someone i want to talk to on the podcast. so here we are. yeah. welcome. you have a program called marketing by nature. right. you have a business. remind me of the name of the business. ethical brand marketing. right. okay. so we have the ethical in common as well. but what really got my attention was the marketing by nature. so, yeah, tell us more about how this became your focus. Speaker 1: yeah. well, i do have a marketing degree. so i got that in 1991, and i worked in corporate, you know, for a long time and and moved to germany in 1995, so pretty early in my career. and i just watched because i graduated in 1991. we didn't have computers back then. right? like, only a few people did. so i watched how the internet basically increased the harmful manipulation in marketing over the years. and because before, it was just a little, like, false advertising. you know, it was still damaging, to some extent, but not to the, yeah, to what we have today. so it basically grew out of my frustration, of how marketing has been abused over the years. and also, like, with the nature part, because i'm very connected with nature, i've always, you know, we we went camping when i was young. i worked for veterinarians during high school and college. so i've always had this connection with animals. and, and i truly believe that the root cause of all our societal problems is our complete disconnect from nature. and there are people who will tell you, like, when that happened. it started when we start started, wearing shoes with rubber soles and, you know, those are kind of, yeah, i'm not really sure, but the industrial revolution definitely, helped with that disconnect. and so what i feel is that if we connect with nature, we are completely different people. like we actually find ourselves again and we respect ourselves. we don't criticize ourselves. we find love and also with other people and it just, yeah. so i just also feel, which i'm sure we'll talk about, throughout this conversation, how nature can really inspire us, how other species can inspire us, and also how we how we're all connected and how we can work together, to, yeah, to solve these super wicked problems that we've caused as one species. Speaker 0: so yeah. do you feel like like you said, you you've been, you know, super interested in this since 1991, which probably a lot of listeners, including i mean, including myself in 1991. yeah. nature was just this thing that we, you know, spent some leisure time in, but it wasn't yet we, there was no talk yet about reconnecting with nature. that is to me at least fairly recent. so did you all these years, because i, i know for humane marketing, the, the, this idea of, you know, doing marketing in a different way. for me, it started in 02/2006. right. which is like later much later than 1991. and even so, from 2006 till actually, no. not not even 02/2006. that's when i started my first business. it's more like 02/2018, i started talking about gentle marketing. and so for all this time, i felt like very alone talking about doing marketing differently. so i cannot imagine how you must have felt all these years. yeah. talking about connecting with nature and and how this relates to marketing. is this a story that i'm just telling myself or is this the Speaker 1: story that you lived? well, it's i it's kinda hard to really go back because back then in 1991, i was i was super young. right? like, i just got out of college. so i didn't really make that connection back then. mhmm. and we didn't have the internet, so i didn't see all the harmful manipulation that we have now. i just noticed it throughout the years. and then when i i guess when i started working for an it software development company here in germany in february, there were times where i was like, no. i don't wanna email these people because they did not consent. and this was way before the gdpr in 02/2018. right? so it just like, that even felt weird to me. and i also tried i tried so many times with this with my one, with this one company who i worked for for, i wanna say, eleven years. yeah. i tried so hard to bring nature into our branding, and i wasn't able to. and and that kind of upset me, but it's okay. it wasn't my it wasn't my company. so as soon as i got out, i was like, okay. now i could do what i want. and now i can say what i want. and now i can actually, yeah, bring something forward that really makes sense. and it was the first time well, actually, that's not true. i was gonna say it was the first time that i felt good about my job because, you know, as a marketer, you'd like we have a bad rep. right? with totally understandable. but i never worked for a company who did things unethically. i won't say that. like, that's not you know, i i didn't work for big companies and and do all this harm for manipulation. i just saw it externally. but, like, the first job i i had after college was with a, independent record label. so that was fun. that was what i was gonna say. like like, me, my my job is the first time i actually felt like it was purposeful. mhmm. but my first job after college working with vets veterinarians was also very, very, purposeful and fulfilling. it was best job ever. but then working at the record label, that was also that was fun. and, so but in between, there's just a lot of, misalignment, i guess, because i couldn't really do what i felt was necessary or was was was purposeful for me, Speaker 0: i guess. so so you referenced, you know, the the these, i guess, lessons or inspiration that we can get from from nature. and yeah. and i noticed for from your posts and and what you're sharing now, for you, it's may mainly animals. i guess for other people, it can be, you know, it can be plants, trees. people talk a lot about trees. i love trees. also, i just came off a call, in our community called, doing business with the moon. so planets and stars are also part of nature and, you know, the universe. so so yeah. tell us how you kind of, like, draw these parallels between nature and, and business and marketing. Speaker 1: yeah. i, i do spend a lot of time in nature and i observe, and i communicate. i communicate with trees. i communicate with wild animals, my pets as well, but you know, that's something different. like everybody communicates with their pets, but, this real connection piece. and, so like, okay, let's say this week we have a new moon in cancer. and so i was i i work with oracle cards. i work with, spirit animals, and my totem animal, which is elk. but this week i was, you know, asking asking animals, okay, who wants to guide us this week of this new moon? new moon, new beginnings, it's always exciting. and hyena came up. and like, i'm getting chills right now because when you think of hyena, you think, okay, they're schemy, there's something weird about them. they have a weird posture. they kind of laugh at you. you know, they're bottomless. Speaker 0: they're like the mean guys in the they're the mean guys. Speaker 1: yeah. exactly. exactly. but when you really learn about them, you're like, wow. so so what happens is that, like, they are a resourceful strategist, and they're deeply misunderstood, like we just said. like and that kind of, like, makes me think of people of my network. we're all working in the climate and the ecospace. we're trying to inspire people to respect nature and we are nature. we are all connected. we are animals and, we are not here on earth to destroy. and so, and i'm also vegan. so like, there's a lot of misunderstanding with veganism and basically why? because the narrative that we have been giving as a collective is doom and gloom, is blame and shame, and that doesn't inspire anybody to act. so it's it's like so coming back to the hyena, like, she's very matriarchal. she has an energy that we need in today's corporate, corrupt world, actually. like, she's also a team player. they hunt more efficiently than lions. i mean, male lions don't hunt at all. they just sleep, eat, and fornicate. but, but like hyenas, they they actually work together and they don't waste anything. you know, they are scavengers, but 70% i just read this yesterday. 70% of their of what they eat are from hunting, which i didn't know, which is more efficient than than than lions. so i thought they scavenged more than than hunted, but that's actually not true. so, basically like her energy and i say her because it is a feminine energy. so she does not waste time. she does not waste money. she does not waste energy, like, and on on things that don't matter. so, she also tells us to, like, know our worth and to lead quietly, but move strategically. and so these these learnings, really, really help me and i'm hoping that they're helping people who read what i've been writing because i write this, like, every monday now. i've just started this month of doing that, and, and it seems like people are really enjoying it. i'm trying not to get too woo at this point in time, but i will at some point. i will move more into the woo. and where are you sharing this? on linkedin. Speaker 0: okay. i only do people need to follow you on linkedin to Speaker 1: see this part? yes. please do. i would love to connect. so yeah, so it's like, it could also be something as simple as, you know, hey. it's because people have asked me, should i should i go on tiktok? and i'm like, well, are your clients there? no. okay. that kind of answers your question. right? so so when people, like, get in that sort of desperation mode, like, i want it it's not working. i gotta try this. i gotta try this, this, this, and this, and they move from one tactic to the to another looking at people who look, successful online, it's only gonna take them away from their real path. and so hyena and so many other animals, like, have this strategic, energy to them. like, follow the path, and you will make mistakes. you will fail a million times. but if you keep on doing that refining and refining and not jumping from one thing to the next, you'll get there. Speaker 0: mhmm. yeah. i love that. so so you you chose or the the hyena sounds like almost chose you because of the new moon in cancer. and so, but you said you're doing this now every monday, so it's not always at the new moon. it's just like every monday you you pick a new or the new animal picks you. Speaker 1: right. and i used to do this, like, daily for myself, and i used to also offer animal spirit guide readings. and i used to do, like, videos and stuff like that and and also go along with the moon. so every two Speaker 0: weeks, i was, Speaker 1: yeah, talking about, like, also, like, conservation of the animal that chose me because i i never i never pull cards. like, i just, like, yeah, ask my questions and then one flips out. it's like me. sometimes it happens right away. sometimes it takes, like, a minute or so. but mhmm. Speaker 0: yeah. i think it's just so good for us to even, yeah, know more about this wide animal world and, yeah, beyond animals. right? plants. i mean yeah. in this, book that i love by, not a book, but it's a collection, from rob hopkins called the ministry of imagination. Speaker 1: mhmm. Speaker 0: and and he asked, all his podcast guests to be the minister of imagination. and so there's the the this book is basically a collection of ideas for the future. and one of these ideas, the reason i bring it up here was this guy, i think it was a guy who is like, we should invent glasses that tell us and, like, when we put them on, it will show us, you know, like, high in, like, holiographically, what the the information is on the plant, the animal, give it its name. so not just our the botanical name, but it's like, hey, this is jessica. you know, it's like, give it a name so that we can relate to to, yeah, nature in that way and really feel like we're one. and i i just love that idea. i like Speaker 1: yeah. Speaker 0: put a big heart around it. yeah. so, yeah, i i love that you're sharing those on on linkedin. i need to make sure i i hit the bell so that i, oh, i keep seeing them. yeah. so so you mentioned, yeah, you're not going to go too much into the who just yet. but linkedin is still kind of the network where people are like, oh, this is, you know, can we put this there? you were working with companies, organizations on this idea of marketing by nature. so and especially in tourism. right? so how do you feel the readiness there? like, are are though yeah. has and have things changed? is it more in the zeitgeist now? Speaker 1: yeah. i mean, i still have a lot to do in that realm. like, i also feel the energy of the person that i'm working with, the company that i'm working with. and i can usually tell how much i can, how far i can go. so i kinda i kind of adapt. i i call myself a chameleon sometimes because i i do adapt to the other person's energy. and i've noticed, like, i also work with freelance creatives. so the designers, the, the copywriters, the filmmakers, those people who are actually able to shift perspectives with their words, with their designs, with their films. and, i find that they are very open to lulu, to, the spiritual aspect, to connecting with nature and, and really learning more about that aspect. and because i also say, like like, running a business, especially if it's just you, if you're like a solopreneur or even if you just have a few employees or independent contractors. like, it's like 95% personal development. i don't know if that's really true. that's just the way it feels and the way, you know, i've experienced it with my my clients and and my network. because your stuff will come up, every with every launch, with every campaign, with every, sales call, whatever it is, your stuff comes up. you procrastinate, you perfect, you get fomo. everybody goes through imposter syndrome. everybody. so we have so many multi layers of ego to sort through that animals and plants that the other natural world, like, don't deal with. and i, you know, i use this as a reminder as well. i'm like, just go out there and observe. like, they don't get in their heads. they just do. you know? they just they just go and do it. just do it. and, you know, especially when it comes to perfectionism. so, you know, like, my clients are, like, about ready to to launch or whatever, and then they they start feeling that fomo coming on and or not the fomo, the, imposter syndrome and and just the the fear of, you know, rejection and stuff like that, from those sales calls and also putting something out there that's not a 100% perfect. because, like, if you if you build a course or if you put out any kind of an offer and it's a new one, you you kinda have to you know, you can't put it out when it's completely done because you need that client feedback. you need to cocreate it with your clients. otherwise, you risk putting something out there and nobody wants it. so this is how software develop software is developed. right? they co create it with their clients. and, so it was it takes a lot to take that step and put something out there that's half baked, that's not finished. and so that is a true sign that, you know, if you can do that, then that's like, wow. okay. you have handled perfectionism. you may not have overcome it yet, but that's, you know, that's a true sign. and and the way to get there is to just do it and, and not think about it. so that's how i also bring in nature. i'm just like, you know, just just observe. they don't they don't do all this stuff that we do. keeps them stuck. they just go and do it. Speaker 0: that's so true. yeah. and and there's also cycles, right, in nature. exactly. that are, yeah, not always about being out there and and, you know, launching every day or or closing every day. but there's, yeah, there's wintering and and, you know, there's the dark moon and, like, yeah, in nature, it's just so normal that there's rest included. we feel like, no, rest is not part of not part of business for sure. Speaker 1: exactly. yeah. what am i doing? Speaker 0: so what kind of daily practices do you have? obviously, you go outside, i assume, and then you have the the the card. any anything i see you have plants in your office. i think that's the the no brainer. right? it's like yeah. of course, you have to have plants. Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. i don't have as many plants in my house as i used to just because, yeah. i don't know. i guess i moved, and and they had to stay where they were. but i also have a garden. so, so, yeah, as far as, like, routines, i used to do yoga and meditation every single morning, and this year, i haven't. just because this year has been very busy. and, you know, when you're not the first person who has asked me this this year, and and i keep on coming back to it. i need to implement that back into my routine, but not in the mornings because i i'm now spending a lot of time outside with my dog and and and just, like, connecting with nature before i start my day that when i come back, i'm like, okay. now i can start working. now i can be creative. and, whereas before i was doing i was doing both, but it was it was kinda draining because i would start my day really late. so i do wanna implement that back, but maybe, like, midday or something like that. so that thank you for asking that because it's just i i yeah. it's something that i i wanna be very intentional about, and and it's something that i really wanna bring back. yeah. Speaker 0: it is it is a shift when we do really want to, you know, be more embodied. so that means doing something physical. yeah, i do yoga every day. i i am the person who does yoga every day. right? i just decided that that's part of my day. and so when i don't do it, then, yeah, i'm missing it. it's much easier to just decide i am the person who does yoga every day than think every day. should i do it today or should i not? so it's just like, no, this part of my day. but then, yes, you all i also wanna be the person who goes outside every day. right? and then what i notice and the reason i'm talking about, you know, doing business like we're human, well, an eight hour workday is just not human to me anymore because we want to make sure that we do all these other things that are much more important than what we think is important, which is sitting on our computers and, you know, being effective or efficient. so so, yeah, in a way, it's it's this concept of time that we also need to shift and say, well, being in nature takes time. doing yoga takes time, but it's time that i value more than, you know, the work. and that's a big shift for a lot of people also because, of course, the money that's attached to the work. right? and we we are living in a society that still yeah. there's no universal income. and so we have to work to make a living. and oftentimes, like, if you're in a corporate job, you can't just say, oh, i'm i only wanna work six hours per day. right? it's like, no. that's standard forty two hours per week, which is so sad. like, it makes me so angry. so yeah. it it really and the thing is that even if we are entrepreneurs and and we feel like, okay, we want wanted to leave the corporate life behind. like you said, 95% is personal development. and so if we don't change that perspective and mindset that we are just here to work eight hours or probably as entrepreneurs ten hours per day, then we think we went for the freedom, but we just lock ourselves into another box that we create, which then we talk about, oh, i wanna connect with nature, but we don't make it a priority. right? yeah. so, yeah, it it really there's a lot attached to it. it's not just a nice thing to say that we now everybody wants to talk about reconnecting with nature. we actually have to make it a priority and make time for it. Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. and it's so interesting because some like, sometimes when it happens to me, like, just spontaneously, like, i don't look for it. it just happens. like, the other week, it was a really bad week. it was the end of, like, the june, the may. it was just really, really bad for several reasons. and so i was walking my dog. her name is nala, chocolate lab. and we were just walking, you know, in one of the normal routes that we go, 06:30 in the morning really early. and, all of a sudden, like, there were three families of geese, on the other side of the river, and then one family was in the in the water. so the babies are starting to get really big right right now, but they're still kind of fluffy. and these are canadian geese, by the way, in germany. but, yeah, we have them. and and then all of a sudden, you know, they they see me and one the papa, one of the one of the males goes into the water, and then his family starts coming. and then the other ones and then the other ones. so all three on the other side came into the water. they all came to us. my dog was like, just eating the grass along the side, but they just swam to us and started like bobbing their head and honking. not loudly, not aggressively, just like occasional honking and bobbing their heads. and i was like, wow, are you here just to say hi, thank you? like, i was just, you know, like communicating with them and it felt so good. and then afterwards i looked it up and i was like, wow, they were, they were excited to see me and nala, but primore me because, you know, nala's a threat. but, but nala was so calm and and they were just, like, saying, we see you. we you're one of us. they like, it is a bonding act of them to bob their heads like that and to to honk and all four families. like, it was it was amazing. and i've seen them a couple of times since. like, i used to see them, like, like, twice a week, but now they're kind of staying out of the water. they're moving onto the grass, onto the fields. and, yeah, and we don't feed them there, so this was not about food. but it was just such a such a, like, such a moment that the next time that i went, when i saw them, i just sat down and they were all just in the water, but also, like, bobbing their heads. they weren't honking. they weren't as excited as before, but they were just kind of staying there and i just, like stayed there and sat with them. but this kind of stuff like happens every now and then. but when i seek it, it's not there. if that makes sense. like you just have to have like an open mind and just say, okay, whatever comes comes, you know, even if nothing comes, then it's also okay. yeah. anyway. Speaker 0: yeah. but but but, again, it wouldn't have happened had you just been depressed and just stayed in bed. right? exactly. you had to make the time to make it happen. exactly. yeah. Speaker 1: that just, like, made my month. i was like, okay, i'm good. i'm good now. Speaker 0: yeah. it's it's like this, this confirmation that nature is perfect and we're all one. right? that's what this message was for. yeah. so definitely. yeah. so so as we're wrapping up here, what would you tell listeners who, you know, maybe they live in new york. i always think about new york city or or just like any city. i was just, in padova, which is the city next to venice. and it's, you know, it's a city. it's a beautiful city, obviously, very old, but it's a city. and there's, you know, there's there's concrete and there's, you know, there's rocks. yes. but, you know, it's still hot and there's not much nature. so what would you tell people who live in a city or listening? how do you connect with nature? Speaker 1: yeah. i i come from long island, by the way, in new york. so, and i now found my utopia. it took a long time, but i lived in atlanta too, so i totally get that. i can't live in a city right now, anymore. i don't think, there's nature is everywhere. like i said, we are nature too. so, you know, even a pigeon, like, i've connected with pigeons before. they're, you know, plants, trees. they're there. there are, you know, city parks and stuff like that. and it's not like, you know, you have to go and hunt a tree or whatever. like, there there is kind of a ritual with trees because they're very wise and they're very, you do have to respect their their presence. so i do ask for permission before i connect, especially with trees. animals just seem to do it anyway. so it's not a problem. but, so i guess, like, my advice would be just just go outside and observe. breathe in the air. hopefully, it'll be clean. go anywhere where you can go where there is a little green, or even if you just have some plants on your balcony or in your home or whatever. also like the spiders in your house. my goodness. people just vacuum those up as if they were garbage. like, spiders are welcome in my house until they get to a certain size. and then and then i'm like, okay. sorry, but i have to transport you outside. and then i do. i carefully, you know, pick them up in a jar and stuff and then, you know, walk away, walk outside with them. but, you know, just be respectful, of of all creatures except maybe mosquitoes, like or ticks or anything like that on your dogs. like, i totally get that. but there's just so much that you can do. and, like, if you're at your desk hustling at work, which is what we all do, that's not good for our brains. that's not good for our bodies. so if we just get up and just take a walk, like during lunch breaks, i used to eat lunch at my desk. like, how sick is that? and i know a lot of people still do. get outside. go outside. take a walk around the block. you will see there often there's, like, one sprout of of of life coming up from, you know, the concrete walls or something. and you're like, wow. yeah. there's always something like sit in silence, look around you, feel the wind on your on your face, breathe in the air, be thankful that that you're alive and, that you're okay and that you are part of nature. like, there's so many solutions in nature too that that we don't need all of our machinery and all this stuff that we're trying to trying to do. Speaker 0: i was just thinking as you're as you're talking, it's like it's so true. right? i probably live very similarly as as you. like, i have access to a forest and a and a river and, you know, a lake. so, yes, i'm very privileged like that. at the same time, i think if you're in a city, you're paying probably even closer attention to the small flower that, you know, grows through a crack like you just said. and it just kind of almost gives you this bigger moment of awe because you're like, how could this be that, you know, right here, you're yeah. there's so much power in that where where for us, it's like, oh, sometimes it's just like, oh, it's right there. so you have to be more aware, and and pay attention to it. yeah. yeah. yeah. wonderful. well, thank you so much for inspiring us. and and, yeah, i highly recommend people follow you on on linkedin. where else can they find you to get to know you a bit more? Speaker 1: i guess my website. so that's ethicalbrandmarketing.com. but, yeah, i'm only i am visible. i'm present on every every other channel. like, i do have a presence, but i just like, a couple of years ago, i was like, nope. gonna concentrate on where everybody where my audience is, and that's that's linkedin. so yeah. just jessica lohmann. easy to find. easy to find. yeah. thank you. a couple Speaker 0: of questions for you. yeah. we'll record those separately. so we'll close here, and then we'll see each other again. but thanks so much for being on the show. thank you. and, yeah. well, who knows? maybe we'll cross paths one in in real life. yeah. i'm sure we we're neighbors. that's true. thanks, jessica. thank you, sarah.

8/8/25 • 44:59

In this heartfelt and honest conversation, I'm joined once again by Kerry Dobson as we explore what it really looks like to co-create a meaningful group program. We talk about the power of true collaboration, the importance of aligned values, and the beauty of building something new together—with transparency, curiosity, and care. If you've ever wondered how to design group experiences in partnership (and with integrity), this episode will both ground and inspire you. -- Speaker 0: hello, humane marketers. welcome back to the humane marketing podcast. the place to be for the generation that cares. this is a show where we talk about running your business in a way that feels good to you, is aligned with your values, and also resonates with today's conscious customers because it's humane, ethical, and non pushy. i'm sarah senecroce, your hippie turned conscious business coach for quietly rebellious entrepreneurs and change makers, mama bear of the humane marketing circle, and renegade author of marketing like we're human, selling like we're human, and soon also my third book, business like we're human. if after listening to the show for a while, you're ready to move on to the next level and start implementing and would welcome a community of like minded, quietly rebellious entrepreneurs who discuss with transparency what works and what doesn't work in business, then we'd love to welcome you in our humane marketing circle. if you're picturing your typical facebook group, let me paint a new picture for you. this is a closed community of like minded entrepreneurs from all over the world who come together in two meetups per month to hold each other accountable and build their business in a conscious and sustainable way. we all share with transparency and vulnerability what works and what doesn't work in our business so that you can figure out what works for you, instead of keep throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash circle. twice per year, i host my signature program, the marketing like we're human, aka the client resonator program live. in a deep dive into the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala, you will learn to market from within. this program is for you if you want and need to get more clients, but want to share your message in an ethical and humane way. if you want to make a difference with your work. if you are just starting out, or if you have been in business for a while, but haven't really found the marketing activities that work for you. or also, if you are pivoting your business from business as usual to your life's work and want to radically change the way you get clients. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash program. and finally, if you prefer one on one support from me, my humane business coaching could be just what you need, whether it's for your marketing, sales, general business building, or help with your big idea like writing a book. i'd love to share my brain and my heart with you together with my almost twenty years business experience and help you grow a sustainable business that is joyful and sustainable. if you love this podcast, wait until i show you my mama bear qualities as my one on one client. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash coaching. Speaker 1: hi, friends. welcome back. today, i'm kicking off a little bonus series of short episodes that fit the p of partnership. as always, if you're familiar of the show, you already know that i'm organizing the conversations here around the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala. and if you're new here and don't know what kind of mandala i'm talking about, well, you can download your one page marketing plan with the seven p's of humane marketing that come in the form of a mandala. and you can do that at humane.marketing forward slash one page, the number one, and the word page. and this comes with seven email prompts to really help you reflect around these seven p's for your business. so, again, this conversation really fits the p of partnership. so you've heard carrie dobson before in episode 213. and if you haven't listened to that one yet, i highly recommend it. we talk about meaningful groups and whether having a group program is a good next step for you. you can go to humane.marketing/hm213 if you haven't heard that episode yet. so carrie and i hosted a collab workshop together and really felt a strong synergy forming, so we thought we'd follow that thread, especially when i told carrie i was ready to create a new program based on the selling like we're human book called how to sell in 2026 and beyond. because just as a refresher, carrie is a small group specialist who focuses on creating meaningful group programs. so we decided to partner on this new bro program that i will kick off with a beta group in november. and carrie will actually join the program as a co facilitator and infuse her long experience with making groups impactful and transformational. and so we thought it would be fun to share how we prepare this collaboration and build this program together live here on the podcast for you to take part of the behind the scenes. and, of course, if you're intrigued about selling in 2026 and beyond, it would be amazing to have you in this beta group. i'll be posting these conversations as bonus episodes, so make sure you're subscribed to the show to get notified about the following convos. not all of them will make it to social media. so, uh, it's best to be subscribed so you get notified. and of course, if you have any questions that you would like us to address, you can reach out to either me or carrie directly. so here's the recording of our first conversation. Kerry: and our goal for this session is just to actually talk about the collaboration as a whole and kind of go through the guiding questions, um, and just kind of explore the collaborative part of it. um, and then we can kind of talk about next steps a little bit more about where we go from here. does that sound good? Sarah: yeah. sounds great. and i think why not share this as well? i mean Kerry: totally. right? yeah. no. i it's it's more of, like, how to contextualize it or put it in. so, yeah, it's not a yeah. so we what i did was i shared with you kind of my what i call the five guiding questions for collaboration, which are just starting questions yeah. for people who are looking to collaborate. i created it specifically for people looking to collaborate around groups, but it works for any collaboration. Sarah: mhmm. Kerry: so i guess what my first kind of question to you is, as you're coming into this, kind of having considered those questions, how are you feeling? what's going on? where are you at? Sarah: yeah. i think it's just a nice idea to, you know, to have a conversation about, uh, the collaboration. and and and like we discussed when we talked last time, it's like, how do we make this a win win? that is, like, really important, um, for me so that we're both clear and that this can be very harmonious. you know, like the last thing i think we both want is some kind of injustice that we feel like, oh, this is not so just, you know, making it all clear at the beginning, i think is so key. Kerry: yeah. yeah. i that that's for me, too, is that idea of when we do anything, we're having thoughts, we're having feelings, and yet we're not always super conscious and super clear at the beginning of a collaboration. because i know for me, i'm i'm a very positive, like, oh, i can see i can see the potential in everything. and going through this helps me to really slow it down a little bit and capture that excitement and capture what's really important to me, but also allow space and time to kind of say, like, what what am i worried about? like, what what is it that's happening that maybe i'm not fully conscious of, but it gives me that opportunity to do it? Sarah: yes. yeah. very good. Kerry: um, i have to Sarah: say mature, you know, it's like, oh, we're like super mature human beings Kerry: here. totally. and and we're acknowledging that we're human in this. right? and that that as we do this, you know, like, i the the story i make up is, you know, this is your body of work. this is a really important offer that you want to bring to your community, and there's a preciousness around that. and so, you know, inviting someone in both from the creation standpoint, but also a potential opportunity to co lead, you know, there's there's risks with that or there's perceived risks. right? and so, um, just acknowledging that that's part of what happens, i think, is yeah. super important. exactly. mhmm. very cool. so do you wanna go through each of the questions and we can just kind of share our answers? Sarah: yeah. let's do that. Kerry: very cool. okay. so the first one is, what is the goal of this collaboration and the experience as a whole? Sarah: yeah. so what we why this came up is because, uh, i'm, uh, working on a new program called how to sell in 2026 and beyond. and just wanting to take this group experience to an even deeper level. and, you know, yes, enjoying each other's company already through the collab workshop and the the podcast and just realizing we have shared values. there's things that i can learn from you. and, um, so, yeah, that's how we entered this conversation about the the collaboration. and i see what i can win. so, yes, hopefully, an even deeper experience for the the participants, uh, also for myself and just, you know, having someone else co lead. i mean, that's the that's that's fun. i mean, at this stage in life, all i want is to do good work and also have some fun. Kerry: so, um, yeah. yeah. do good work. have some fun. i like that. i can sign up for that. Sarah: yeah. and then we also said, well, we want to use that as a case study for you, you know, so there that's the win for you. and and just have you experience that with a group and see how that can lead to an offering for for your own business. what can you learn? what went well? what didn't go well? and then the third thing i think is really that i feel like people come and look to me for new innovative ways of doing business. right? that's kind of the brand that i created, uh, because i keep telling them question all the assumptions, uh, and i tell them we're lacking role models of the new. and so they're looking to me, uh, for being that role model, and so this collaboration feels like walking my talk about the p of partnership and and just say telling them, look. this is what we're doing. we're experimenting because it's never been done before. and so now here here's how it went. Kerry: yeah. and i love that part. that part of it too is that, you know, we are we are walking into something that we think is a possibility. we see it as, you know, this moment in time is really calling forth that partnership piece and saying we don't have to do all of this alone, and there is a way that we can support each other and, you know, kind of do good things together. and so i, you know, i love the fact there's a part of me that's like, oh, crap. what's this gonna be like? but i love that experimentation part. and to experiment with someone else is also it's just a little safer. right? it's like, okay. you know, two heads are better than one and, you know, the ability to have the conversation as we're going through it. and i'm really looking forward to, you know, the openness that we've created around being able to share what's going on. so i'm really excited to kind of get the feedback from you as well as you're going through things because i know you're super aware of what's going on in your body and your mind and what's calling you forward. and so to get that insight, i'm really excited to kind of see what that is, and i know that there will be learning in that for me as well. great. Sarah: yeah. Kerry: um, i also just, um, i love the approach that you have in the book for selling like you're human. so i've i'm i don't know if i'm halfway, but i'm close to halfway through it. and as i was reading it, i was like, oh, this is this is needed right now. right? like this idea of, hey, hold on a second. it was so funny because i've been listening to a podcast on the way home my cameraman rory was. and he was talking about this, like you need to decrease the demand the supply in order to increase the price, like, all this. and then i read your book, and i'm like, no. that's not what we need to do. so it was so confirming for me to be like, yes. this is the you know, sarah's approach to selling like we're human is absolutely something that i believe in. and so to be able to have that be the center of this group is really exciting for me too. Sarah: i think, yeah, that's a big part of your offering as well to only engage in groups where you can stand behind because otherwise, honestly, i don't think it would work that part of the right? Kerry: yeah. it it especially the coleading, but even the other part. right? it's there is such a need for alignment because of the preciousness of people's groups and their expertise. so it's like it's a lot harder to to to hold that space with them if i wasn't believing in what they're saying or if it's, like, in direct contrast to, like, my values and that type of stuff. so a big part of my process is really having it clear what what my values are and how i like to work and then making sure that there's a good connection before we really dive into the work. Sarah: for sure. Kerry: yeah. very cool. okay. so then the next question is, what are you worried about? Sarah: yeah. i sat with this question a while. i looked like really thinking, well, what is it that i'm worried about? and, like, i have, you know, i've experienced a lot of partnerships, and, yes, there's a few of them that didn't work out, but that's not what worries me. um, i think the only thing i came up with is is, like, not having enough participants to get a group together. but then i was thinking, well, then we just postpone it. then we do it another time. so, yeah, there's not, like, specific worries that i i feel like, um, you know, this is not gonna she's gonna walk all over me or, like, any any kind of, like, oh, i should be worried about my content. none of that. so right. yeah. awesome. really good. Kerry: well, that feels good to hear. so that's that's great. the worry about the participants, i think, is always a worry, especially with groups because especially how we design them, you know, you need at least six people to really kind of have that engagement and have that connection. and so i think that's such an important worry. and part of what we'll do, i call it the plan to pivot. and what we do is before we even do prelaunch, we talk about what happens if we don't get the whatever that minimum number is and what is our plan for that so we can be working on that plan as we go. but we also create the plan of what if we get too many people because sometimes that happens too. and so having that plan in place ahead of time makes it so that some of the tension, there's still tension in launch, there always is, but some of that tension, it's like, well, we have a plan for that. we know what we're going to do. and there's some, you know, postponement is part of that, finding other people, you know, all sorts of stuff. so that'll be part of what we do too. um, i so for me, my worry is, you know, because this is still new and untested, then, you know, trying to put it together, i you know, i'm worried i'll they'll be it just won't make sense. like, at some point, we'll look up and be like, what were we you know, what was carrie thinking? and so that's part of it. right? when it's really new and fresh, i have this vision in my head. i have this imagined ideal of what this could be. but, you know, when you start putting it all together, like, maybe maybe it doesn't work. Sarah: right. yeah. yeah. yeah. but at the same time, i think it depends if we're attached to a certain outcome, then yes, maybe the worry is justified. but if we're looking at it both as a growth experience, then then, yeah, there there is no it didn't work. no. we both learned something, and yes. Kerry: that is the Sarah: the outcome. yeah. yeah. Kerry: yeah. and then the other worry i have is just, you know, you have so much experience leading a group. there's there's this voice in my, you know, the back of my mind being like, am i gonna even be helpful? she has so much experience doing this. and so that's just my own my own stuff coming up, but i just wanna acknowledge that that that that it's there because, you know, part of the work that i do is often with people who have done groups before. i find that people who have done them before kinda have a better understanding and appreciation for my perspective and what i talk about. um, but it's always a little bit there of, like, well, what if this person turns out they knew everything and didn't need me? so just putting that on the table. Sarah: yeah. it's good to put it on the table. but, um, again, for for me, it's it's a big part of this is is walking my talk around partnership. and just because of that, uh, you know, it's worth doing. and then and then, yes, i think the at at this stage of experience, it's all about the small little adjustments. it's not gonna shift the way i do groups completely, but it's those small little things that are gonna make a huge impact. and that's that's really what i'm excited real about. Kerry: yeah. and i i just love that you are aware of that. right? like, that that the the enhancements at this point or the up leveling or whatever the language is is they are those small tweaks. and there's these small things that make a huge difference. and so many times, those small differences aren't really recognized by the participants at like, they're not aware of it, and yet it changes their experience. yeah. Sarah: it's kinda like subconscious. yes. Kerry: yeah. exactly. yeah. um, so what would you say your strengths in this collaboration are? Sarah: well, as we just said, i have certain experience with, uh, with groups. i, um, have experience, uh, with the art of hosting. uh, so i really come from a place of holding space more than just teaching. and i think that's a big strength that i have developed over the last, uh, years. so i'm comfortable with uncertainty. i'm comfortable with people's uncertainty. and and that is a big part of being able to hold space for others because i've learned to hold space for myself and then now applied us to to hold space for others. so that's, um, yeah, i think that's one of the strengths that i bring. and then the content, you know, the this idea of selling like we're human. um, i i wrote a book about it. so it's interesting because up till now, i didn't feel like, oh, there's a program in me for this. so so this is a bit new for me, but i i feel very grounded and solid because of the timing. i just feel like now the time is right. and so, yeah, that's another strength that i bring. and then this openness to collaborate. like, i have an undefined ego in in human design, and there's nothing that i feel like i you know, it's like, oh, this is mine and, like, nothing like that. and so it just feels really good to to collaborate. Kerry: yeah. i love that. i love that so much. um, so for me, what i what i see is the the strength in this collaboration is just the level of expertise that we both bring to it. you know? there's there's so much here that we get to work with, and i'm i'm really excited about it that. and so this my strength in kind of acknowledging and, like, appreciating the expertise that we both have. um, i also think we have a really similar view of business. that's part of what our conversations, whether it was, you know, prerecording or recording or during the live session or before and after it. and so, um, i i love that we have that, you know, similar vision and similar values, and we also are really noticing that this is the time for it, as you said. like, there's something about the timing both of, like, this collaboration, but also this work and kind of doing it. and so being aware of that, um, and then obviously kind of that, the expertise that i bring around the small intimate groups, i think, is is something that's a little different that, you know, not tons of people are talking about, and yet that's where i really think the power of connection and the power of results really blossoms. and so that's that's part of what i'm bringing to the collaboration too. Sarah: yeah. exciting. yeah. Kerry: um, and then the next question is just, what are the obstacles you can foresee? Sarah: i don't see any obstacles. i if there's obstacles, we'll find ways. uh, yeah. so i don't not yeah. Kerry: yeah. the obstacles. the only obstacle that i kind of am just aware of is, like, a timing standpoint. like, are do we have enough time? which i i think we do, but that's always kind of a a piece of it. and then making sure that it doesn't take me too long to catch up on your area of expertise and how you like to run groups. i've been part of a couple of your things and reading the book, and so i'm just aware of, like, okay. i'm not worried about it. it's just that's i i'm coming into this not having spent, like, a year in your programs and knowing kinda how you do things. Sarah: right. yeah. yeah. i can i can understand that? Kerry: yeah. thank you. and then what was it that was appealing about this particular collaboration? we've kind of, you know, said some of that stuff too, but is there anything else that you wanna Sarah: i think what we're doing right now is is, like, actually building it live. and so then sharing the process of this collaboration, uh, you know, on our podcasts and with vulnerability and also sharing if, you know, if then things didn't work out and we didn't, we have to postpone or whatever whatever it was. so so not just leading up to it, but then also maybe after, do a recap of what went well and and and what you're now going to do, uh, you know, with that. is it gonna lead to an offer? so so, yeah, that that is exciting. and then again, uh, we said this before, but this idea of creating different ways of of being in business and and and seeing. yeah. how, of course, right now we have this agreement that there's, you know, we are just experimenting. so maybe we can also just share with transparency that there's no money involved in this collaboration. yeah. but in the end, that is the goal. right? still to somehow get paid. and so whether that develops into a paid partnership between the two of us, uh, or if it's just something that you will then use in in your business, um, yeah, we we can continue to share how how that evolves as well. Kerry: yeah. i love that part of it. it's like not just like the the the build up towards it, but kind of continually sharing as the process goes and as, you know, the launch happens and all that type of stuff about it. um, i i'm really excited too or the most appealing part is, um, you know, i really value your expertise and your perspective on business and selling and humane marketing, and i think it's so needed in this world right now. i know even just as a, like, a customer, like, i i'm so much more sensitive to, you know, what people are saying and how they're saying it and, you know, all that kind of stuff. so the more people in the world that have this more humane approach to it, i i find really appealing. and so to be able to play, you know, one part one tiny part of kind of having more people out there operating that way is really appealing to me. and then i also you know, we've we've talked about this too. like, there's something longer term that i feel like with you and i where there is this potential for other opportunities, other ways of supporting each other, whether that's, you know, in collaborations like this or or also just, like, being fans for each other and, like, you know, telling others about there's something about the longer term part of this that that i find really appealing to. Sarah: yeah. exactly. to to to develop on on that. and and i think it's this human element that we so often still you know, yes, we're all busy, but that's to me, it's always an excuse. so when i do say, you know, let's partner and let's do a collab workshop, i really mean the collaboration part. right? and i think you're one of the yeah. there's about a handful of people who who really understand that part. and for others, it's still kind of like, can i get some visibility out of this yeah? Kerry: piece? so Sarah: yeah. Kerry: yeah. right? and and the the invitation to collaboration doesn't always get met with collaboration. and that that's sometimes like, that's what we learn too. right? and so when you find people who are truly interested in collaboration, it's so nice because it really can be the win win win of, like, real longer term partnerships and collaborations. so, yeah, i love that part too. yay. so with all that said, um, i'm curious about kind of what what's outstanding for you? is there anything that you're kinda like, okay. i still this i still don't know or i'm holding space for the fact that we're trying to figure it out. but is there anything left unanswered or untalked about at this point for you? Sarah: i guess i can't picture it yet. um, i mean, you when you mentioned the the co hosting, you were kind of like, well, if there's breakout rooms, you know, there's gonna be a chance for me to be in another breakout room. yeah. i'm i'm just kinda, like, wondering, well, what happens during the time that i'm actually delivering content? what's not kind of what what what i know a little bit is during, for example, our colab workshop that we did. right? um, you were on that end. you were the expert, uh, uh, you know, teaching in quotation marks. and the way i have these collab workshops is, like, yes, you are the expert, but i can then come in with questions or lived experience. and so maybe the way i kinda see it is that you're gonna play that role. and because sometimes we have groups where the people are, i don't know, too shy or or not confident enough, and they're not actually asking the questions that kind of flowed around in the room, but nobody just dares to speak up. so i would love for you to play that role. right? um, so that's one way i could see it. Kerry: totally. so i think i think you've hit it completely like the nail on the head there. in terms of, um, i i read it once as an article where it's like the yoda role. so it's like that permission to kind of say the things that you're you you sense that are out there and happening and people are thinking, but they haven't quite either because, you know, it's new or it's like, oh, uncomfortable. so there's that part about it. where where i see it is kind of like um, as as you demonstrated, but it's like, oh, i'm there kind of representing the group essence sometimes where it's like, oh, that that didn't land or, like, that instruction didn't you know, there was questions about that or could you say that another way or that kind of thing. so it it's it's almost like i'm there as the representation of the essence of the group while you're sharing. and then, you know, there'll be other times where, you know, it might be that, hey, i'm leading them through because it's more of a reflection opportunity or celebration. and then you take on that role of you get to kind of represent the essence of the group. so there's a flow to it, and there's like a back and forth. and it it's really it's a different idea. so part of it is about really how do we, you know, share this at the beginning so people understand, well, who's this other person in the room and and why do we care? right? and so, you know, people because sometimes they're familiar with more of what i would call a producer role where it's the person who's checking in on the chat and making sure the technical stuff is there, which don't want that. no. right? like, it's like so people people are kind of you not even used to. they've seen that sometimes. and so it would just be about us kind of setting the stage in that first session in particular of, hey. this is, you know, this is carrie. this is why she's here. this is what we've done. you know? i think this helps us because people will hear it ahead of time and will be part of what people might have, you know, seen before they said yes to being part of the group. sure. but it really is just setting that context and just recognizing, like, okay. that's that's the role that i have in the room for most of it. Sarah: yeah. it's great. Kerry: very cool. okay. so in terms of kind of the process from here, the idea is is we're just gonna work through kind of the the typical steps that i take clients through when we're putting a group together, um, especially when it comes to a book. i i love doing groups that they're not the they're not the group they're not the book in group form. right? it's not that you take everything from the book and put it into a group. it's that you the group is like the the book is the foundation of the group, and it's you know, i've had everywhere from an author who we took one one slice of a book and made a whole group and certification from it. and then for others, it's it's a bit more of the group. right? and so what we'll be doing is going through the process of kind of saying, okay. what is this group about? and we start with, it's the vip process, but it's, you know, the vibe promise. what is the environment that we're promising we're gonna create? who's that ideal participant? who is this really for? and then what is the program promise? so what are they what are we promising they will accomplish and or experience in our time together? and so that's really where we start because once you have that vip, all your other decisions are super easy or they're at least impacted by the vip. so how long should the program be? what kind of activities should we include? you know, all that. the vip really helps us to inform the decisions we make around that. so the first session we do, that's where we'll start is is the vip process, and i always love to start that with a visualization. so, um, what i will do normally, i would give you that visualization, and i'll give it to you so you have it. but i think we do it live. i think we record it and just kinda see what happens. sounds very cool. yeah. Sarah: yeah. for sure. Kerry: awesome. well, i think that's it for this collaboration piece where we're we're figuring it out in the next steps, and we'll catch you next time as we jump into the vip part of the group design. Sarah: very good. see you next time. Speaker 2: thanks for listening. i hope you found this interesting. and, uh, yeah. i gave you a little sneak peek behind the scenes of how we're setting up this completely radically new different, uh, way of collaborating. and, um, we'll post again when we have another conversation. speak soon. be the change. don't forget.

8/1/25 • 35:58

In this short solo episode, I'm reflecting on our recent Conversations for Change series — the fundraiser for my upcoming book Business Like We're Human. Together, we explored what it truly means to bring more humanity into the way we work. From letting go of outdated success myths to reimagining business through the lens of Indigenous wisdom, natural cycles, and compassion — this episode is an invitation for heart-centered entrepreneurs to do business differently… more spacious, more honest, more human. -- Speaker 0: hello, friends. sarah here. today, i'm coming to you with a short solo episode about this beautiful journey that we've been walking together these past few weeks through the conversations for change series, the fundraiser event for my upcoming business like we're human book. it's really been one of these seasons where i'm reminded why i do this work, why i believe so deeply that business is a space for healing, for reflection, and for creating change that actually feels good in our bodies. over the past few weeks, i've been gathering with a group of change makers, people like you, to explore some of the themes from my new book, business like we're human. but more than that, we've been exploring how to live and work in a way that feels honest, kind, human. because let's be real. so much of what we've been taught about work, about success, about business, feels really outdated. it feels disconnected from who we are and from the world we want to build. these conversations for change were an invitation to imagine something different, not through hustle, not through forcing, but through slowing down, listening, and reconnecting to what matters. and it just really felt really good to put this book out there in that way, to do a completely different book launch than anything that i've ever seen out there before. so i just wanna give you a kind of a feedback or a tell the story of what happened in these conversations if you couldn't be there. so we started on june 10, and in our first conversation, we really opened the door gently. it was all about waking up because that's the first part of the business like we're human book. and we started with the big question. what does it even mean to be human today? it sounds so simple, but the more we explored the deeper it got. we talked about compassion, not as a fluffy add on, but as a way of being. and we also explored the idea of an infinite circle of care. how our humanness doesn't end at the borders of our business cards. it extends to each other, to our communities, and the planet. i also remember pamela sharing about the hidden world of trees, how they communicate through their roots and how they're all interconnected, a quiet interconnected network of care. and chris reminded us how rare compassion still is in business, how it's often overlooked, but deeply needed. and then we began to name the myths that we've inherited. the old stories that tell us our worth comes from how productive we are. that success is measured in constant growth. that busyness is a batch of honor. and then together we asked, what if that's not the only way? what if success looked softer, more connected, more meaningful. in our second session, the week after, we let ourselves dream bigger. we stepped fully into reimagining. that's the second part of the business like we're human book reimagine. we borrowed from indigenous wisdom, from the cycles of nature, from the quiet knowing that life and business don't have to be linear. we explored the fish tank analogy, how even when we try to innovate, we often stay trapped inside the same old system, just decorating the glass walls. but what if we stepped outside the tank altogether? like what i'm wanting to do with this business like we're human book, and i think what we're wanting to do as a collective right now in this paradigm shift is not just adjust and kind of fix all these broken systems, but really reimagine a completely different way of being as humans, but also of doing business. so we talked about seasonal work rhythms, governments guided by indigenous women, workplaces designed for rest, for creativity, for joy. chris shared his shift from logic to intuition, and jean spoke about exponential living and how life expands when we allow it. were you reminded each other that like trees in a forest, our businesses grow at their own pace with strong roots, with gentle stretches toward delight, and that maybe that's enough. by our third gathering, we then moved from dreaming to grounding. we explored how to recalibrate. so that's the third part of the book, recalibrate. how to actually live and work in alignment with our values. we talked about the ubuntu mindset. i am because we are. and what that means when it comes to business, to clients, to collaboration, to really sense that we are all one. we drew our ubuntu trees, weaving together family, ancestors, and the natural world, because all of it shapes how we show up. and then we explored this topic that i talk about in the business like we're human book, new business intimacy, which is this beautiful space between surface level superficial networking and deep personal friendship. so to find a new way of being in this new business intimacy. so it's not personal friendship, but it's way deeper than just superficial niceties and networking masks. and it's really where trust, alignment, and real connection can grow. that led us to reflect on authenticity, not the buzzword, but the real thing, the kind that asks us to look honestly at our own alignment, at where our business feels spacious and true. and through it all, there was this quiet, steady thread that small businesses, our businesses, really have the power to show what's possible. we don't have to wait for corporations or politicians to lead the way. we can model a more humane, more spacious, more honest way of doing business right here, right now. and that's really where i find hope. so where are we now? well, i'll be making the final edits to the business like we're human book over the summer months, and then publish it to the public in september, probably around the full moon, because, you know, natural cycles. because if there is anything this journey has reminded me, it's that business like life isn't about constant upward growth. it's about cycles, pauses, reflection, and allowing ourselves to show up again and again as fully human. and speaking of showing up, there's one more thing i've been quietly, but excitingly working on over the last few weeks. and it's not called business like we're human, but it's deeply connected. i'm creating a new program. and honestly, i never thought i'd be the person hosting a program about selling. if you've read selling like we're human, you probably remember me saying that. but here's the thing, i think sales have changed, and i have changed. i've grown into the person who now has the courage to share my point of view about selling. and as you can imagine, it's not the mainstream approach. so this new program is likely going to be called how to sell in 2026 and beyond. and it's going to be a mix of tangible, pragmatic business and sales advice, helping you clarify your offers so that people actually want to buy it, but also tapping into this new paradigm of selling. expanding on what i shared in selling like we're human. and yes, i'm really giving myself full permission to integrate the woo. we'll be weaving in human design, looking at your unique sales power through your hanging gates, and exploring who you're truly meant to sell to through the lens of your north nodes of the moon. so yes, it's gonna be different. it's gonna be soulful. it's practical. it's just very human. and if you're curious and you want a very unofficial sneak preview, you can message me either on linkedin or via email to sarah@humane.marketing. and i'll happily send you the inside scoop, which for now is just the first draft of the outline, but i'll make sure to keep you in the loop and conversation so that we really can cocreate this new paradigm of selling in 2026 and beyond. and then i have one last little celebration because together through the book fundraiser, we also raised 10% for the pond foundation. and i've purchased a carbon credit we're together, we're taking out one ton of co two out of the atmosphere, and it's a carbon credit for a bio carb project in ghana, a small but meaningful way to give back to the planet that holds us all. so truly from the heart, thank you for your contributions, for your trust and walking this path with me, for believing that business can be different. if you feel called, i would love for you to leave a book review when the time comes, or why not join us in the humane marketing circle? that's the kind of conversations we have there as well. or just simply keep holding these questions in your heart. because this work, my life's work, this remembering, this reimagining, it's not just mine, it's ours. until next time, keep being human and keep being brave. see you soon.

7/18/25 • 13:45

In this episode I welcome Theresa Sansone for an insightful conversation about the power of connecting with your future self. Together, we explore what it truly means to visualize your future self, both personally and professionally, and how this approach differs from traditional goal setting by focusing on relaxing into your unique blueprint rather than chasing external goals. Discover how future memories and tuning into your energetic frequency can provide wisdom and guidance, why aligning with your inner potential is essential, and practical strategies for tending to your energy even when immediate change isn't possible. This episode is designed to inspire entrepreneurs to create a life and business that feels authentic and aligned, moving away from one-size-fits-all success formulas and embracing a more humane, heart-centered path. In this episode we talked about: The concept of visualizing your future self and what it means both personally and professionally. The difference between self-visualization and traditional goal setting, emphasizing "relaxing into" your blueprint rather than chasing external goals. How "future memories" and connecting with your future self can provide wisdom and guidance. The idea of everyone having a unique inner blueprint (likened to an acorn's potential to become an oak tree) and the importance of aligning with it. The importance of tuning into the energetic "frequency" of your future self, using the metaphor of tuning forks to explain alignment and attraction. Strategies for tending to your energy, especially when you cannot change your circumstances immediately and so much more Watch this episode on YouTube Theresa's Resources Theresa's Website Future Self Now Playbook Download the Future Self Now Visualization Follow Theresa on LinkedIn -- Speaker 2: hello, humane marketers. welcome back to the humane marketing podcast. the place to be for the generation that cares. this is a show where we talk about running your business in a way that feels good to you, is aligned with your values, and also resonates with today's conscious customers because it's humane, ethical, and non pushy. i'm sarah senecroce, your hippie turned conscious business coach for quietly rebellious entrepreneurs and change makers, mama bear of the humane marketing circle, and renegade author of marketing like we're human, selling like we're human, and soon also my third book, business like we're human. if after listening to the show for a while, you're ready to move on to the next level and start implementing and would welcome a community of like minded, quietly rebellious entrepreneurs who discuss with transparency what works and what doesn't work in business, then we'd love to welcome you in our humane marketing circle. if you're picturing your typical facebook group, let me paint a new picture for you. this is a closed community of like minded entrepreneurs from all over the world who come together in two meetups per month to hold each other accountable and build their business in a conscious and sustainable way. we all share with transparency and vulnerability what works and what doesn't work in our business so that you can figure out what works for you, instead of keep throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash circle. twice per year, i host my signature program, the marketing like we're human, aka the client resonator program live. in a deep dive into the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala, you will learn to market from within. this program is for you if you want and need to get more clients, but want to share your message in an ethical and humane way. if you want to make a difference with your work. if you are just starting out, or if you have been in business for a while, but haven't really found the marketing activities that work for you. or also, if you are pivoting your business from business as usual to your life's work and want to radically change the way you get clients. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash program. and finally, if you prefer one on one support from me, my humane business coaching could be just what you need, whether it's for your marketing, sales, general business building, or help with your big idea like writing a book. i'd love to share my brain and my heart with you together with my almost twenty years business experience and help you grow a sustainable business that is joyful and sustainable. if you love this podcast, wait until i show you my mama bear qualities as my one on one client. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash coaching. Speaker 3: hello, friends. welcome back to another episode on the humane marketing podcast. today's conversation fits under the p of personal power. if you're a regular here, you know that i'm organizing the conversations around the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala. and if you're new here and don't know what i'm talking about, you can download your one page marketing plan with the humane marketing version of the seven p's of marketing at humane.marketing/ one page. that's the number one and the word page. and humane is human with an e at the end. this comes with seven email prompts to really help you reflect on these p's for your own business. today, i'm talking to theresa sansone about future self visualizations. theresa has been coaching leaders, innovators, and creators for over twenty five years, helping them activate their inner wisdom, visualize their fullest potential, and create a future that's as authentic as it is impactful. she's also chair of the association of sustainability practitioners, an international community of sustainability practitioners learning and acting together to create truly sustainable futures. and that's also how we met thanks to the introduction of will. thanks so much, will. there is a chapter about my experience with future self visualization in the reimagine part of the business like we're human book because i really see it as a great tool to imagine our future life and work deeply aligned with whom we are. so i'm super excited to share this episode with you, and we talked about the concept of visualizing your future self and what it means both personally and professionally. the difference between self visualization and traditional goal setting. emphasizing relaxing into your blueprint rather than chasing external goals. how future memories and connecting with your future self can provide wisdom and guidance, the idea of everyone having a unique inner blueprint and the importance of aligning with it, the importance also of tuning into the energetic frequency of your future self, using the metaphor of tuning forks to explain alignment and attraction. attraction. you'll notice that threesome is really good with metaphors. strategies for tending to your energy, especially when you cannot change your circumstances immediately, and so much more. so let's visualize our future selves with risa sanson. Speaker 0: hi, theresa. it's lovely to connect with you again. i'm so excited to have you. Speaker 1: thank you for having me. Speaker 0: yeah. it's wonderful. it's such a a timely topic because as, we were connected actually, we we need to do a shout out to will nuit to connect with us. so thank you, will. and yeah. i can't remember exactly why he thought we would, you know, really hit it off. but but then when when i saw the topic of of your expertise, which is visualizing your future self, i thought, well, how timely because it's a chapter in my business like we're human book, and i think it really is this thing that right now we need to reimagine new things. right? and that has to do with, yeah, the the future and with our future selves, but also the future of humanity. so tell us a little but you for you, yes, it's timely, but you've been doing this for a long time. so tell us a little bit, you know, yes, what it means to visualize your future self, what it means to you, but also how how you got into this, like, twenty years ago. right? Speaker 1: yeah. well, i've been coaching for twenty five years plus. Speaker 0: wow. yeah. Speaker 1: and i was in it. i knew it was not for me. it just wasn't working. i knew there was something more. i knew there was a sort of an essence of me that wasn't being expressed. so several kind of programs and courses later, i, really, came alive to that there was absolutely more for me to to give. and, i came across the book the artist's way that many of your viewers may well know. i became a coach and i started primarily teaching that, about how to rediscover your self expression and really be sort of following your true path. but it was a lot around, you know, your our creative selves. and i did that for thirteen years, running 12 workshops, you know, in person, and latterly online and so on. so, i became really alive to what can happen when people really reconnect with themselves, their true essence. and often it is a very sort of creative side. right? and, go beyond all the programming and the sort of social constructs that we get, you know, battered by over the years. and, but then, you know, i'd been having a kind of waking dream about, this version of me that was living in a fantastic home and that was, just enjoying a moment over a cup of coffee where she was sort of taking that all in and, enjoying that. and then my family sort of suddenly appeared, and we all went away. we were all going out the front door with suitcases because i was giving a speech in paris. and, and this just wasn't something i was going to share with anyone because it sounded a bit kind of outlandish at the time. and but it wouldn't go away. this was a a it felt more like a memory. in fact, nowadays, i call them future memories because it felt so real. and it just suddenly occurred to me that i could experimented with that and, talked to her and blow me down. she was answering back with a lot of really great wisdom. so i thought i knew i was sort of on to something. so i then was grabbing every kind of warm human being that i could possibly find and put them on my couch and and getting them to try this visualization that i came up with to sort of connect to that part of, you know, that i knew was inside of all all of us. and, and everybody found a connection. so it was wonderful. and i you know, i've been doing it now for sort of nearly fifteen years, these, these visualisations. and there's only been one time when somebody hasn't got their future self, and that was because they'd been frog marched to me by their aunt. Speaker 0: yeah. you know, it Speaker 1: wasn't a sort of a a sort of willing, participant. but, yeah, i mean, everybody has this. this. so it's, like, really very, very, you know, revealing that this is a truth that we all hold inside of ourselves. like, who we are able to become if we just relax into our own blueprint. so i liken it to an acorn, has the blueprint of oak tree in it, but it doesn't look anything like an oak tree. mhmm. nor is it the size of an oak tree. but it knows, if you like, that to to just relax into its blueprint and it becomes an oak tree. mhmm. and we are no different. we have a blueprint that is absolutely special to us. we're all different. and if we relax into that and let that unfold and really know that that's who we are, then we will become oak tree. so this is a process of getting in touch with your oak tree ness, as i say. Speaker 0: yeah. and and, you know, several times now you said relax into. right? yeah. and so maybe another question is how is self visualization different from, like, the traditional goal setting? Speaker 1: mhmm. Speaker 0: right? which is very action oriented. so not so much relaxing into. so tell Speaker 1: me yeah. Speaker 0: talk about the difference. Speaker 1: well, that paradigm is about chasing, you know, about tracking down, making things happen. it's about push and shove and all of that. it's about trying to insert ourselves into life. this is not that. this is this is, as i say, following your own inner blueprint, and it's an inner knowing. mhmm. so it's we all have it, and often it doesn't take much to peep for people to admit, yeah, i've always known i can be and do more. and that still small voice inside of us that's calling out for that is your oak tree ness. mhmm. it's that part of you that knows what you're capable of, knows what you're here for, and knows what you're capable of in terms of, you know, your being your expanded fully realized self. and so we're tuning into a knowing. we're not kind of goal setting, as you say, and, like, aspirationally trying to go for something that may not even be ourselves. right? so people might think the the word is think. right? they might think they know what it is, but it's nothing to do with what the heart and soul, if you like, know. Speaker 0: well, it's usually the the definitions of success that come from the outside in. right? like, the career development that you should have, and and and that's outside in instead of inside out. yeah. Speaker 1: exactly. i use those very words when, i i also work with with organisations. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: and, yeah, i use those very words. right? it's not outside in. it's inside out. and, obviously, in organizations, that is a, you know, completely different way of doing things. Speaker 0: yeah. i wanna i wanna talk about that as well because yeah. when you taught yeah. told me that you're bringing this into our organizations, i'm like, wow. you know, this is yeah. it's a paradigm shift, right, that we're completely, yeah, unknown territory for for organizations for sure, but even even for people, i would say. like, and so you let me through one of these, visualizations, which was which was amazing. and i had done it before, and i had, you know, kind of transcribed, my experience in the in this chapter. as a person who is actually not i'm not necessarily comfortable with visualizing. right? and i told you that and and you're like, don't worry about it. it's like it's more of this feeling, this knowing. Speaker 1: yes. Speaker 0: and so really that's what came up. right? it wasn't like i wasn't seeing myself necessarily in future situations, but it was more like a deep knowing. and i think that's very aligned with, you know, my idea of of changing our relationship to work as well, which is less about the doing and more about the being. and therefore, if we are more in this being, right, then we yeah. we we are we need to be less in the doing. so talk to me about, you know, what kind of different experiences people have when and and maybe just explain what it looks like when you have, when you do a session like that. Speaker 1: yeah. no. it's a really good point. and and and it's very pivotal. i always set it up with people that you may not see anything. Speaker 0: right. Speaker 1: this is not about visualising in a way. i mean, it's just an easy word because everybody knows what it is. but it's not about pictures. for all that i saw pictures, and some people do, it's really not necessary. what's necessary is that we're tuning into, the way of being, if you like. the the the essence, the feeling of right. your future self. and if we have that, then we have everything we need to align to your future self. so the way this works is forever however we are energetically in life is what we attract. so i use the metaphor of tuning forks. so if i have the tuning fork for c, note c in my hand, and i have a row of tuning forks on the table, only one of which is tuned to c, and i ping my c tuning fork, then it's only the c tuning fork on the table that's going to vibrate. mhmm. so if we wanna become our future selves, and this applies to organisations too, if we wanna become our future selves, then we have to resonate at sea in order to attract the future self that is sea. mhmm. and how do we how do we align? well, we've gotta know energetically who our future self is. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: and then we can align. but until we're you know, whilst we're in confusion, oh, you know, that person's saying that, society's saying that, my teachers told me that. right? we're not we don't know really what the vibration is that we're trying to line up to. right? so and so once we're equipped with the know the knowledge that our future self resonates in this way, energetically, in other words, they have these kind of values, they they they approach life in these ways, then, you know, it's much much easier to go, okay. and that is why my program is called future self now. mhmm. because the only way we can align is in the now. yeah. that's all we've got. so we have to be looking after tending to the quality of our energy right now. and is it aligned as much as possible to my future self's energy? and and the more i do that, the more i can do it. i mean, none of us perfect. right? but the more i can and the more i'm kind of aware that that's my goal, then the more that's gonna come towards us. right? so the quicker it will come towards us. yeah. so that's that's the game. Speaker 0: i love this image of the, of the tuning forks. and and what i thought of when you were explaining that is, like, it also matters who's around those tuning forks. right? because the frequency or the resonance of other people constantly influences you. and and it's interesting because i'm just going to the market through the marketing, like, we're human program where we're talking about human design and how we are wired. and then this lady is like, well, i think i'm just surrounded by the wrong people. and i'm like, totally, totally true. like, that's what happened to me when i pivoted the business. and it's like, if you're with the wrong people, then obviously you always feel awkward, being yourself. right? Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. Speaker 0: so you need to actually also change the people that you surround yourself with. yeah. Speaker 1: if you know that that affects you and you're tending to the quality of your energy mhmm. and your the quality of your energy is the number one priority right. then you need to do something about that. now sometimes we don't have any choice. because say it's your boss. yeah. so now you've got to change energetically about the boss. Speaker 0: right. Speaker 1: now it doesn't mean that you stay with that company, you know, like it might be time to go. right? but whilst you have to, what i say to people is you have to change the energy of how you're approaching the boss in order to attract something different from them. Speaker 0: right. Speaker 1: so, i mean, just a quick example of this is my husband who was having a terrible time with a, colleague at work, and and i and i asked him to think think about the things that he appreciated about that person. and he was like nothing. nothing's nothing's very good about them. but i said you know next time you go into meeting because this person was you know being very disingenuous and very critical in meetings and things like that. i said, next time you go to a meeting, just concentrate on the things that you enjoy about that person. he said he couldn't think of anything, of course, at but then we we went into it because all you have to do is a tiny, tiny thing. and he said, well, they're good with their team. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: and they they they dress smartly. right? and it sounds ridiculous, but it doesn't matter because you can imagine yeah. going in and the energy of that mhmm. changes the dynamic immediately. and he did that. and at the end of the meeting, the woman praised what he'd been doing in front of everyone. it was a completely different wow. but also what happened was two weeks later, that person resigned and, went on. so, like, there is this concept that you can curate what's around you by how you be energetically. and everything that's not a match yeah. to your energy has a tendency to just sort of fall off. it's something mhmm. to put to the test. right? but, yeah. it's it's a a fascinating and very deep and wide subject to this thing about how we are energetically and what we can attract. right? Speaker 0: so you mentioned the the name of your program is your future self now. now. when we visualize ourselves, though we see or we feel, well, the future self. right? and so how do we manage the uncertainty or the path from being who we are now and being who we want to be and and not get obsessed with this trip to paris. you know? Speaker 1: yeah. yes. exactly. no. and it's a very good thing good good question. and, well, one thing is that you can be in touch with your future self. and, you know, like, this is a conversation you actually can have with your own inner wisdom. in other words, your future self. because this is, like, the best version of you, the the wisest person that you've got at your on your at your fingertips. right? and that person would say, relax. it's coming. and they would say, enjoy your life while, you know, while you're doing what you're doing, and you are building towards that. and, you know, trust it and relax into it. i don't want you to hurry up and get here. i want you to enjoy the process that's needed in order to become this. right? and so they wouldn't want you to wish your life away. they want you to enjoy the journey and enjoy the knowing that that is what's coming. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: and, and again, you know, if you're chasing, if you're feeling resentful and impatient, any of those things, right, you're now not aligned to how future self does life. mhmm. yeah. so Speaker 0: i see my future self or or, like, before we did this session, i i was more tuning into my wise woman. right. like, see myself on the bike and, you know, white hair flowing in the the wind and getting my groceries in this little basket in in front of me. and so yeah. just like like you said, there's no rush, you know, in in that in that picture. right. and at the same time, i'm like, well, why am i not? you know, we we had bikes, but, where we live in lausanne, it's very up and down. and so i never used it, and so we transformed them into ebikes. and now every time i take this ebike, i'm like, i'm already my future self. Speaker 1: exactly. yeah. yeah. it's a really good question to ask. in what ways am i already my future self? Speaker 0: right. Speaker 1: so back to that question about the what we see and what we feel, it's the what comes in terms of the actual manifestations. yeah. i haven't been in done that talk in paris yet. i will. right. right? but the the question is much more, how much am i being future self now? right? and, and if i'm energetically aligned to her, then i don't need that. right? that that that's just a sort of byproduct. those things are the byproducts. right? right. if you think about it, what are we wanting in life? we're not really wanting the things because we're we're just conflating what we think the things are going to do and how they're gonna make us feel. Speaker 0: love us. yeah. Speaker 1: so we we're actually wanting the feeling. mhmm. yeah. so that's what we can that we have some power over that right now. right? so we can have the feeling of that. yes. the manifestations aren't there. and if if that if if that's making us feel like we're lacking in some way, then we can ask ask ourselves, so what am i needing right now? Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: you know, that that isn't about the thing. it's about the the the the way it makes me feel. can i can i bring that to myself that way that it makes me feel right now? the answer is yes. with a bit of, you know, looking around and checking in with yourself, you'll be able to find a way of having that experience right now. Speaker 0: yeah. another thing that came up, in our little visualisation was the hippie picture. right? and i Speaker 1: think i was Speaker 0: mentioning barefoot. and so i'm like, well, i just gotta walk more often barefoot. right? like, that's that's the easy thing. and, yes, it creates a very different feeling than walking with shoes on. so Speaker 1: yeah. exactly. absolutely. so there's all sorts of things. i mean, people can go on to my website and and download a a thing about how to align to your future self. but it is you can do it in these little things. you know? like, what's their, you know, are you doing the things that they're doing that that you could absolutely do now? like you say, like the biking and the, you know, might even be just the the kind of tea that you have or, you know, like, are you are you being as abundant with yourself as they are being abundant with themselves? you know? like, in doing that in a in a, you know, obviously, in a way that works, but it's the feelings of it. so, yeah. like, if they're if they have a real hippie element that they're really enjoying, Speaker 0: how can Speaker 1: you have that right now? right? so, yeah. i love what you're doing. brilliant. Speaker 0: yeah. so the reason i brought it into the business like we're human book, is also because i think it's such a powerful tool to get us out of this stuckness and destruction that we are in right now Speaker 1: mhmm. Speaker 0: and really use it as a tool to reimagine completely, like, something that we feel right now is completely impossible that we could ever have or ever live in abundance. and i'm not talking becoming millionaires or anything, but just feeling peaceful inside and feeling abundant. right? yeah. and so i think it's a really powerful tool to, yeah, reimagine our our life and work differently. Speaker 1: yeah. Speaker 0: have you is is that a topic that comes up in your, in your with your clients? Speaker 1: well, yes. i mean, i i'm actually the chair of the association of sustainability practitioners. and it's it's kind of, i mean, they're a very amazing hopeful organization who are looking, you know, really future sensing and in, as i say, in really hopeful ways. but, yeah, the that exercise with them has, i think, shifted things, subtly as we've gone along is that we have to. we have to tune into that version of life and for and the planet. because if we don't, we're gonna collapse. we're gonna get overwhelmed and we become we lose our agency, and we can't do anything about it. mhmm. so another metaphor i use is one of cells in the body. so if you have a body, so that's the planet, and we are the cells, there may be disease in parts of the body, but it doesn't help if all the cells in the body kind of rush towards the disease and get infected themselves. mhmm. we have to have pockets where there are healthy cells that can grow from being healthy. and the more healthy cells there are, the more we can help heal the disease. it's the healthy cells that are going to heal. yeah. we can't we can't solve the problems from the energy of the problems. we have to solve the problems from the energy of the solution. so the more healthy cells, human beings, there are in the world, the more we are we can help heal. so that for me is very, very pivotal. it's it's way the way asp, the association, works. and i know we we both, enjoy the idg and the, you know, development goals and what they're up to. and there's so many organizations and there's so many people out there who are doing great things. we need to highlight those people. we need to stop highlighting what's going wrong and we need to start highlighting what's going right. and the more we do that, a bit like my my story about the colleague of my husband's. right? by he he focused on what was right. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: and there's always something to find, even if it's that the person has nice teeth. right? you know, there's there's always something. if you focus on that, that's where the healing starts. right? so that's why it's important. Speaker 0: yeah. i love how you compare the micro with the macro because it's it's so true. like yeah. and and that then changes the energy of of us as change makers because, like you say, if we are not healthy as change makers, what kind of can we really create? Speaker 1: yeah. so yeah. yeah. then we get into force and and and bitterness and anger, and we lose our agency, and we just join in. you know, there's another i love you might have spotted i love a metaphor, but there's the the metaphor of the well. right? so if somebody's fallen down the well, you're of no help to them just going and joining them in the bottom of the well and going, oh, poor you. right? we we can't that's not that's not helping them get out of the well. we have to stay above and throw them a line from there. but we cannot come down. we have to stay there. we have to be willing to stay healthy. and it's a brave choice to stay hopeful when everybody keeps telling us that you know it's it's hopeless and it's all going to hell in a handbasket. we cannot engage with that because now we're part of the problem. Speaker 0: yeah. and that's why i think, you know, just the the word future nowadays, it's such an important word to use in everything. and, you know, of course, especially in your work, but but everybody should, like, make the future part of of their work now because that's what we're working towards, right? any kind of healing, change making, consulting, changing, anything like that should all be future, oriented. Speaker 1: yes. yes. Speaker 0: it can, you know, it can only be helpful to visualize that future so that you know where you're going towards, what you're going towards. Speaker 1: and to know that there is something to go towards. right? that there is yeah. Speaker 0: there Speaker 1: is hope and that, you know, we otherwise, how can we operate? right? yeah. i don't know if you know dan pink. he did a he did a ted talk on motivation. mhmm. which basically comes down to three things. amp, basically, is the acronym. autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: so in order for us to really engage with life and do it well, we have to feel a sense of autonomy that we're doing things on our own terms in our own way. we have to feel that we're getting mastery. in other words, we're getting better and better at something, that we're growing. and we have to have a sense of purpose, of a sense of a higher that there's something higher that we're working towards. yeah. and that really resonates with me. i think that's absolutely true. and so that the future self work, well, helps with all of that. because, you know, autonomy, you suddenly see that future self is doing in her or his own way. mhmm. and but it that it's of real service to do it that way. not to become a clone of somebody else. right? that they're the fact that they're relaxing into their own oak tree ness means that they they are being the greatest version of themselves and that is the greatest gift that we can give. right? that's a very generous act. it's always good to feel like we're getting better and better at something. and future self gives you that sense of, oh, yeah. there's some there is a gap, but that's fun to to, you know, to work on closing that gap. and there's something much bigger at work that my future self is really engaged with, and i i can really get behind that. Speaker 0: it's beautiful. Speaker 1: mhmm. Speaker 0: how would you say, like, people, can start on their own, you know, kind of just yeah. you i think you said having a conversation with your future self. would that be the step, or how would they get started? Speaker 1: well, it's interesting. yes. i think if you, if you feel fairly close to your future self, like, you can tell that you do have that kind of inner knowing that there is more Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: and you may have even had those kind of waking dreams that i've had, then yes, absolutely get in touch with that person and have a conversation with them on per on paper. you can lie down and and see if you can start interacting with that person. if you're feeling a little bit more confused and lost, it helps to be guided, i have to say. i think it's, sometimes it's just a difficult thing for us to sort of go towards by ourselves if we're feeling a little bit, you know, more out of sorts. right? because it's about the more we're kind of energetically aligned with our future selves, the more we're gonna see them and feel them. so i think sometimes it does require somebody to help you get into that energetic space. right? but, you know, if you do have a sense, then absolutely you can, do that for yourself. Speaker 0: i i think maybe, like, what i used to do a few years back is a recorded meditation that you can find on insight timer or calm or one of the these apps. yeah. yeah. the one i used was something about, you know, future wise woman or something like that. so that already kinda gets you familiar with the with the topic Speaker 1: yes. Speaker 0: and makes it then once you do have a guided, visualization, it makes it less uncomfortable. Speaker 1: yes. exactly. you know what you're doing. that. i i have one too that i can give you the link for Speaker 0: as well. yes. yeah. please do. Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. Speaker 0: yeah. i think you have a, yeah, an ebook as well. so please do tell tell the listeners where they can find you, your website, and all of that. Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. so they, my website is, futureselfnow.co.uk. and so you can get in touch with me through there. and as i say, there are some, tips and, sort of, it says a workbook for aligning to your future self in there that you can download. and, i have a book, what i call the future self now playbook is on amazon. so you can if you just look up future self now and make sure you say playbook at the end of it because there's another book that comes up quite often. but the future self now playbook, then you that is just packed with, like, so many tools for aligning to your future self. so, yeah. that that's and it's very colorful and full of photos and just a as i say, i called it a playbook for that reason because nice. you know, we have to we have to have a lighthearted approach to life. right? Speaker 0: it's that creative part, i guess, from your earlier years in in business. yeah. yeah. Speaker 1: yeah. Speaker 0: and it's true that i feel like if you wanna play with the future, you can't do it from the rational mind. right? you have to go into the other side of the brain. and so i'm sure it helps to have color and images and all of that. yes. Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. yeah. yeah. it's it's, you know, as soon as we get into that it's all about kind of, it's all serious and we gotta heal and, you know, there's some words that are quite triggering. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: and, you can see the energy that that stirs up. and so, like, now we're not in the energy of the solution. so we this is why i'm highlighting. Speaker 0: well, i would assume also anything that is, you know, the more like i said in the beginning, the traditional goal setting. so if it's results and achievements and and well, that's all the rational mind. right? right. exactly. figure it out. and Speaker 1: yeah. and and, you know, that is why we go to the future, by the way. you know, like, who you are is who you are is who you are. you've always been this way. we could argue you were you were it before you were born and that you'll be it after you die. we don't, you know, like, because it's energy after all. right? right. so who you are is who you are. the only reason we go to future self the only reason we go to the future is because it's the only place that our brains let us suspend disbelief to your point. right? mhmm. and, and and really get in touch with that part of you. we could get back in touch with that part of you when you were five and you were full of the joys of spring and, you know, just loving life. Speaker 0: that's inner child work. right? Speaker 1: that's you. right? that's still you. and and and i'm sure there's now times now when you're on top of a hill and you're just in wonder, right? that's the same thing. it's just harder in the past and in the now to do that with all the busyness and the stuff that's been before. so we use the future only because it's the place we can have the cleanest, clearest view. so, you know, it's not about chasing, as you so rightly put it, and it's not about trying to get there. it's about who we're being now. we're just highlighting much more who we already are. Speaker 0: it's brilliant. so grateful for your work and Speaker 1: oh, thank you. Speaker 0: like i said, i i'm sure it it it was important fifteen years ago, but right now i cannot highlight how important it is. so Speaker 1: yeah. it definitely feels it. yeah. Speaker 0: lots of work to do, especially with those organisations. right? like mhmm. yeah. Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. yeah. because organisations can get in touch with their their values and their essence too. right? and it's a it's an energetic thing. and it's it's a new paradigm, but i think, you know, we'll get there with those organizations starting. Speaker 0: yeah. we're we're especially with are waking up. yeah. Speaker 1: yeah. exactly. and you're very much part of that impulse, so it's brilliant. Speaker 0: thank you. i can't wait to see you in person in stockholm in october. Speaker 1: i'm looking forward to it. Speaker 0: until then, thanks so much for being on the show, theresa. Speaker 1: thank you so much for having me. Speaker 4: i hope you got some great value and inspiration from listening to this episode and start thinking about your future self. you can find out more about theresa and her work at futureselfnow.c0.uk. and you'll find her future self now playbook on that same website and also other resources, or you can also find the playbook on amazon. if you are on insight timer, look for my name there. i have a whole bunch of free meditations, and one of them is a guided meditation around this visualization of your future self. after the episode, we turned the mic and theresa asked me three questions about my experience with future self visualization. and i'm sharing that video and my thoughts on my business and life meanderings newsletter on substack. so if you are not following me there yet, look me up. i am not promising to be very regular. i really, take this, word of meanderings very seriously. so i just wanna go with the flow and and, yeah, write when i feel like it. and i thought this idea of turning the mic while recording a podcast would be a really effortless thing of getting my thoughts out into, you know, the ether and out on, substack, which is very new for me. right? i i haven't been there. so look me up, and i'd love to share my meanderings with you there. and as always, if you are looking for others who think like you, then why not join us in the humane marketing circle? it's our community, and we do a lot of assumption busting and cocreating this new future, this new world of doing business like we're human and marketing like we're human. you can find out more at humane.marketing/circle. you find the show notes of this episode at humane.marketing/hm21four. and on this beautiful page, you'll also find a series of free offers, the humane business manifesto, as well as my two books, marketing like we're human, selling like we're human, and soon my third book, business like we're human. thank you so much for listening and being part of a generation of marketers who cares for yourself, your clients, and the planet. we are change makers before we are marketers. so go be the change you want to see in the world. speak soon.

7/4/25 • 41:12

Curious if a group program is the right next step for your business? In this new episode on the Humane Marketing podcast, Sarah Santacroce talks with group program expert Kerry Dobson about the power of small, interactive groups. Together, they explore what truly defines a group program, the unique benefits of intimate settings, the facilitator's role, and the importance of understanding your "why" before getting started. If you're an entrepreneur seeking clarity and a more humane approach to group offerings, this conversation is for you. In this episode we talked about: The definition of a group program and how it compares to other offerings, such as online courses or memberships. The distinction between large-scale "guru" group programs (one-to-thousands) and smaller, more intimate groups, and the impact on transformation and participant connection. The unique value and magic that happens in smaller, intimate groups, especially regarding participant-to-participant connection and transformation. The facilitator's role in group programs and why it can be more powerful to host smaller groups rather than large ones. The business and impact considerations of running small versus large group programs, including the challenges and benefits of each model. The pitfalls of trying to emulate large-scale group models when starting out, and the importance of building impactful small groups first. The significance of understanding your "why" before creating a group program, and the questions to consider before deciding if a group program is right for you. A sneak preview of what we'll work on during the Collab Workshop with Kerry on July 2nd. If you'd like to join us go to humane.marketing/workshop Watch this episode on YouTube

6/20/25 • 46:23

In this episode titled Money Motivators, I'm joined by Leisa Peterson for a deep and nourishing conversation about our relationship with money. We explore the roots of our money story, what truly motivates us, and why healing around money is so essential, especially for heart-centered entrepreneurs. Leisa shares her own journey from financial advisor to conscious money mentor, the disillusionment with a broken system, and why she turned to fiction to tell the story of transformation in her new book The Money Catalyst. This episode is an invitation to reflect on your own money motivators and to begin rewriting your story from a place of self-worth, clarity, and courage. In this episode we talked about: 🌱 Leisa Peterson's journey from financial advisor to conscious money mentor—and why she left the traditional finance world. 💔 The disillusionment with our broken money system and how hard it is to "unplug from the matrix." 📖 Her new book The Money Catalyst—a novel that follows Mirabelle's transformational journey through 8 money catalysts. 💡 The connection between self-worth and money—how our inner beliefs shape our financial reality. 🎭 Why fiction was the best format to share deeper money insights and how storytelling can heal. 🌀 How transformation around money isn't just educational—it's emotional, spiritual, and deeply personal.

6/6/25 • 52:38

Hello, friends. I'm coming back to you with a loving nudge and a gentle reminder that if you've been meaning to join our Conversations for Change, support the fundraiser, — this is your moment. 🌿 Before I go into the details, I just want to pause and celebrate what we've already created together. 💚 Every single contribution, every person who said yes to doing business differently — it's been so heartwarming to witness. You are showing that there's real energy behind this humane way of working, and I'm beyond grateful. I'd love for you to join us too! We are in the final days, but the fundraiser is still running until June 9th and I would so appreciate your presence, your energy, and yes, your support in helping this new way of doing business emerge .. When you join, you're not only supporting the launch of my new book Business Like We're Human, but you also get: ✨ Access to all 4 live workshops ✨ The eBook and audiobook versions of Business Like We're Human ✨ A replay hub, in case you can't attend live Join us at: humane.marketing/conversationsforchange

6/5/25 • 07:06

In this episode of The Humane Marketing Show, I'm joined by Jen Freeman to explore how your Human Design centers — both defined and open — reveal your natural marketing superpowers. We unpack what these centers are, how they shape the energy you radiate or absorb, and why knowing them helps you release the pressure to market like someone you're not. Jen clears up common myths and shows how understanding your centers can gently guide you to choose marketing strategies and business models that feel authentic and easeful. If you're a heart-centered entrepreneur or Changemaker ready to market from who you truly are, not from hustle or hype, this conversation will inspire and ground you. Previous Episode with Jen here. Here's what we discussed in this episode: What centers are in Human Design and their origins. Defined centers as areas of consistent, radiating energy. Open centers as areas where we receive and are influenced by others' energy. The importance of knowing your defined and open centers for self-understanding. Common misconceptions and the value of open centers for gaining wisdom. How understanding your centers can guide decisions and reduce pressure to be someone you're not. How your open centers can reveal what you are naturally drawn to offer or "sell" in your business or marketing. Using your Human Design to choose marketing strategies and business models that fit your authentic self. Watch this episode on YouTube Join our Workshop on June 4th -- Transcript 1 00:00:01.190 --> 00:00:07.499 Sarah Santacroce: Jen Freeman, welcome back to the humane marketing podcast it's good to hang out with you as always. 2 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:09.810 jen freeman: Oh, it's great to be here. Thanks for having me, Sarah. 3 00:00:09.810 --> 00:00:28.310 Sarah Santacroce: Thank you. You've been on the show before. And we talked about human design. And if people want to go back to that episode, it's episode 194. So humane dot marketing forward. Slash. 194. 4 00:00:28.460 --> 00:00:56.510 Sarah Santacroce: This way, we take it a bit farther and further and deeper into, you know not so much about the different types, but more about the centers specifically defined and undefined centers. So again, if this is all kind of like complete, weird language to you. It's probably best that you 1st listen to episode 1, 94, so that you understand a little bit of the basics of human design. 5 00:00:56.710 --> 00:01:08.530 Sarah Santacroce: So, Jen, why don't you explain? For people who are relatively new to human design what the centers are like that we're going to be talking about today. 6 00:01:08.830 --> 00:01:19.320 jen freeman: So the centers in human design. They're a synthesis of many different systems. So they are. They do reflect the Chakras. They do reflect the Kabbalah tree of life. 7 00:01:19.460 --> 00:01:48.089 jen freeman: They go all the way down to genetic code and organs. So so when you look at a human design chart, it's a 2D representation of a 3D. Lived experience. And so the the centers themselves probably the simplest way to say it. They're they're portals for one, because where they're when they're open. It's where you're receiving information from the world, and then where they're fixed. It's where you're putting it out. I like to think of it as a radio station. So 101 Sarah 8 00:01:48.420 --> 00:02:01.600 jen freeman: going out, and that, you know, never ending, would be where your centers are fixed, where your energy is consistent, and you're radiating that energy into your environment where they're open is where you're receiving other people's. You're receiving my 1, 0 1 gin, you know. 9 00:02:02.170 --> 00:02:05.749 jen freeman: into yours. So so being with that constant interplay 10 00:02:05.980 --> 00:02:19.960 jen freeman: that's always happening. But this is why it's so important to know your centers, which one are defined because that's consistent. That's you. That's your radio station and which ones are open that are receiving because you're being conditioned there, which we'll talk more about. I'm sure. 11 00:02:19.960 --> 00:02:38.109 Sarah Santacroce: I'm just gonna hold up for people who are watching on Youtube. I'm holding up this. Yeah, this, this chart, that kind of shows the the centers. So you mentioned the Chakras? So yes, there's the Chakras, but there's a few more right. What? What's in addition to the Chakra. 12 00:02:38.110 --> 00:02:53.609 jen freeman: Because that's part of like the Kabbalah tree of life. For example, if people are familiar with what that looks like, so it's a similar recognition that there are these portals of energy that are coming through us and to us. 13 00:02:53.760 --> 00:02:59.280 jen freeman: Right? So. And that's where the G center is unique. And that's that heart you just showed them. 14 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:00.280 Sarah Santacroce: In the center. 15 00:03:00.598 --> 00:03:06.640 jen freeman: That that is what's called the magnetic monopole. And it's basically what creates the illusion of a separate self 16 00:03:06.910 --> 00:03:11.089 jen freeman: and sets direction so that there's the apparent sense of sereness 17 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:32.619 jen freeman: right? Right? So and and again, human design is very deep. So I'm very aware with your listeners that probably every sentence we say could create more questions in their mind. And I just want them to know you're right on track. This is the nature of this. It's a very deep subject, a life, a lifelong inquiry. Really, you know, Sarah and I both have 18 00:03:32.730 --> 00:03:37.019 jen freeman: caught the bug. I've had the bug for 23 years. So I think you've had it 19 00:03:37.140 --> 00:03:38.460 jen freeman: 10, maybe. Yeah, yeah. 20 00:03:38.460 --> 00:03:41.200 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, but not as deep as you, you know. 21 00:03:41.200 --> 00:03:55.919 jen freeman: Yeah, yeah, so, but just just knowing that if it does raise questions, it's okay, it's great. Actually, it'll take you into wonderful places. But so we're gonna both do our best to keep it as simple, so you can apply it right away as possible. 22 00:03:56.390 --> 00:04:04.390 Sarah Santacroce: So you talked a little bit already about centers, one of them being the ones where 23 00:04:04.650 --> 00:04:25.470 Sarah Santacroce: you know who you are and the other ones being the ones where you receive energy. So the open centers are the ones where you receive other people's message and energy and the defined, or the would you call them closed centers? The defined centers are the ones where you 24 00:04:25.700 --> 00:04:31.650 Sarah Santacroce: you know you can tap into, because that's where you know who you are. Is that correct? 25 00:04:31.650 --> 00:04:32.210 jen freeman: Yeah. 26 00:04:32.520 --> 00:04:50.990 jen freeman: yes. So so something called the neutrino stream, which is an infinitesimally small particle of mass traveling just under the speed of light. So the defined centers. So basically, we are all being inundated with these tiny, tiny particles all the time, millions of them per second. 27 00:04:51.110 --> 00:05:04.549 jen freeman: So what? Where the centers are defined. It's where you have consistent conditioning by the planets of neutrinos. Okay? So it's you're still being conditioned. But it's all the time consistent. Your entire life. That's what's happening. 28 00:05:04.940 --> 00:05:15.480 jen freeman: Whereas where it's white is where you're both being conditioned by planets, by people, by animals, by plants, by like, it's like, it's it's really the felt sense of it 29 00:05:15.770 --> 00:05:27.839 jen freeman: is that basically, it's like the the where the centers are fixed. It's like the furniture. You never really think about it. You know, it's just there. It's consistent for you all the time, whereas where they're open, it's much more like the television 30 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:35.449 jen freeman: like flashy images, colors, lights, and our attention is very naturally drawn to the TV over the furniture, you know, unless you're a very, I guess. 31 00:05:35.610 --> 00:05:42.609 jen freeman: meditative person who likes to stare at your couch? That most of us are going to be drawn to those open centers. So 32 00:05:42.770 --> 00:05:48.849 jen freeman: so, part of how we learn about ourselves is, we see our defined centers. 33 00:05:48.990 --> 00:06:00.179 jen freeman: So let's say that, I have a defined emotional center which is the center of authority. It means that I need at least 24 h to make decisions. It means my emotions move on a wave 34 00:06:00.950 --> 00:06:03.309 jen freeman: meaning. I have a lot of feelings. They're data points. 35 00:06:03.590 --> 00:06:07.419 jen freeman: So if I don't understand that about myself. 36 00:06:07.750 --> 00:06:17.059 jen freeman: and I don't understand that someone with an open emotional center would be experiencing my emotions. They'd be. I would be. I would be conditioning them with my 37 00:06:17.060 --> 00:06:17.890 jen freeman: promotion. 38 00:06:18.040 --> 00:06:21.770 Sarah Santacroce: So I actually have an undefined solar plexus. 39 00:06:22.170 --> 00:06:25.599 jen freeman: So so that would be where my emotions 40 00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:29.749 jen freeman: you would be feeling them. And this is so. Wherever you're open. 41 00:06:30.030 --> 00:06:42.450 jen freeman: you will be feeling somewhat the conditioning twice as big. Basically, so often we think we're the opposite of what we are. So like, someone with an open emotional center can feel like, oh, I'm so emotional! 42 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:46.500 jen freeman: But really they're feeling all of the emotions around them. 43 00:06:47.380 --> 00:07:00.259 jen freeman: Right, and it doesn't mean that they don't have their own. But it's it's not the same thing. It's it's a much cooler experience than the emotions are very hot. So if you have it fixed, you just naturally have a lot of heat going through your system. 44 00:07:00.420 --> 00:07:06.539 jen freeman: So so the essence of this. And again, Noah is always with you and design. The challenge is to 45 00:07:06.690 --> 00:07:13.380 jen freeman: essentialize it for people to apply is that if you look at your chart. You get a reading, you start to understand. 46 00:07:13.540 --> 00:07:24.809 jen freeman: You have incredible. You're incredibly empowered to understand who you are in any environment, how you influence people, how you affect them, and also how you're influenced and affected. 47 00:07:25.370 --> 00:07:28.250 jen freeman: It changes everything, everything 48 00:07:28.550 --> 00:07:35.719 jen freeman: so. And that's something just a very quick, anecdotal evidence. I have a totally open heart ego will center. 49 00:07:36.170 --> 00:07:41.769 jen freeman: So part of what that means is that I really need to do things at the right time. I'm basically 50 00:07:42.030 --> 00:07:56.620 jen freeman: it's not. I'm not here to to will things right? Where if somebody, 30% of the population has that fixed, they are, it's healthy for their heart, because it's about the heart center, but when it's open it actually hurts your heart to try to will things into being. 51 00:07:57.100 --> 00:07:57.800 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 52 00:07:57.960 --> 00:08:09.690 jen freeman: And so I was in the financial industry years ago, which was a hundred percent commission. I was in this in the States, in the mortgage business in California, and a very, very competitive market with the broker's license, which is like 53 00:08:09.790 --> 00:08:17.120 jen freeman: and it my God! It was so painful! It was so painful, and I I finally used this tool to understand it was 54 00:08:17.490 --> 00:08:19.269 jen freeman: I was totally in the wrong place. 55 00:08:19.450 --> 00:08:38.956 Sarah Santacroce: Right? Yeah, yeah, that's exactly how understanding who we are and how we're wired helps us. Then, you know, choose the the right career path, but also the right business plan and the right business module and and marketing tools, etc, etc. Yeah, 56 00:08:40.260 --> 00:08:52.009 Sarah Santacroce: So would you say that, like, I think there's some kind of misconception, maybe, about open centers, like people think they're kind of 57 00:08:52.160 --> 00:09:00.350 Sarah Santacroce: scared about open centers. Maybe. Because yeah. Tell us, tell us why, what's the fear behind these open centers? 58 00:09:00.530 --> 00:09:08.459 jen freeman: Yeah, so so the thing about the open centers, is it? Well, if we basically just go with it, all human beings seem to tend to want to be in control. 59 00:09:08.630 --> 00:09:12.180 Sarah Santacroce: And so the open centers are where they are not in control. 60 00:09:12.180 --> 00:09:12.550 Sarah Santacroce: Right? 61 00:09:12.550 --> 00:09:29.789 jen freeman: By definition. It's like they're not in control. Right? It's like, this is where, if different influences, different information. But the positive side of this is. It's where you're you're here to be wise in those centers. It's like you're constantly having wine tasting of all these different possibilities. So 62 00:09:30.280 --> 00:09:35.460 jen freeman: when you are defined. You. You're just it. You're not actually wise about it. You just are. It. 63 00:09:35.960 --> 00:09:36.300 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 64 00:09:36.300 --> 00:09:48.169 jen freeman: But where you're open is where you get to taste all these different people's fields and energies. And so like again going back to the open heart example. So I'm here to be wise about what is truly a value. 65 00:09:48.990 --> 00:09:54.049 jen freeman: and that is a very big difference versus trying to prove I am valuable. 66 00:09:54.240 --> 00:10:07.609 jen freeman: which is where the people have it fixed, are trying to prove that they're valuable. And again, it's correct for them, right? They're supposed to get out there and be like woo, you know, especially in the States. We're so very sales oriented. So you know they they succeed very well in those environments. 67 00:10:07.770 --> 00:10:09.159 jen freeman: But if you don't. 68 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:18.630 jen freeman: if you understand so like, even right now, sitting with you, I feel completely grounded and confident that what we're talking about has great wisdom and great application. 69 00:10:19.940 --> 00:10:21.540 jen freeman: but it has nothing to do with me. 70 00:10:22.040 --> 00:10:29.299 jen freeman: It's I'm I'm just. I'm just expressing what I've taste, tested and learned, and then I that ideally, I want them to go apply it 71 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:29.970 jen freeman: right. 72 00:10:29.970 --> 00:10:30.790 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 73 00:10:30.980 --> 00:10:33.696 jen freeman: I've tasted. Yeah, go ahead. 74 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:37.860 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, yeah, this is good. So I have this 75 00:10:38.628 --> 00:10:42.040 Sarah Santacroce: spreadsheet in front of me, where 76 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:45.220 Sarah Santacroce: I basically looked at my undefined centers. 77 00:10:45.520 --> 00:10:46.990 Sarah Santacroce: And then I 78 00:10:47.820 --> 00:10:59.619 Sarah Santacroce: given your like, we we did a class together that you taught and given that information. I basically sat down and said, Here's what I'm selling. 79 00:11:00.210 --> 00:11:12.570 Sarah Santacroce: because it's placed in the undefined centers. Right? So, for example, I have an undefined heart and ego. And so what I'm selling is worthiness 80 00:11:13.100 --> 00:11:19.409 Sarah Santacroce: or belonging to community or adaptation in times of shock 81 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:25.009 Sarah Santacroce: or ethics. So these kind of things. 82 00:11:25.300 --> 00:11:36.809 Sarah Santacroce: because that's what I'm constantly learning because of my undefined heart and ego. That's exactly what I'm here to, you know, give and share and sell. 83 00:11:36.930 --> 00:11:43.529 Sarah Santacroce: So that's would you say, that's an applied example of of how we can? 84 00:11:43.640 --> 00:11:46.029 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, tap into these open centers. 85 00:11:46.340 --> 00:11:49.559 jen freeman: Yes, and really harness their power. 86 00:11:49.980 --> 00:12:13.219 jen freeman: It's like, in a way, realizing what, Major, you're in in university. You're like, oh, biologist, right? This whole time. I was trying to, you know, be a Wall Street, and now you know or do business analysis. But I'm actually meant to be over here, and the sense of relief, the sense of oh, it all makes sense and the sense of not putting pressure on yourself anymore. To be something that you're not 87 00:12:13.340 --> 00:12:18.809 jen freeman: is so big, so like I have a chart of an entrepreneur. As an example. 88 00:12:19.310 --> 00:12:23.300 jen freeman: so much of my design. I'm designed to get out there do stuff. 89 00:12:24.020 --> 00:12:36.089 jen freeman: but I know I know that's my chart. I know that's my design. But I'm I'm here. So I have a lot of energy, basically. And I have the gate of power connected to my throat, so I know, when I speak that it will be heard 90 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:41.050 jen freeman: right one way or the other. You know I can't say if they're gonna like what they're hearing, but what it's gonna be heard. 91 00:12:41.460 --> 00:12:44.530 jen freeman: whereas if someone does not have a fixed throat center. 92 00:12:45.500 --> 00:12:50.410 jen freeman: then what that means is, they don't have consistent access to their voice 93 00:12:50.640 --> 00:13:04.030 jen freeman: being heard, so they often will have lots of stories like self-talk stories right about oh, people don't love me, or they don't like me, or they're not listening to me, but really on a mechanics level, they just don't have a fixed 94 00:13:04.130 --> 00:13:10.029 jen freeman: throat. So in that case they could learn. If they have something important to communicate, maybe write an email, write a letter 95 00:13:10.210 --> 00:13:14.090 jen freeman: that written communication could be received much better than spoken. 96 00:13:14.260 --> 00:13:16.579 Sarah Santacroce: Right, yeah. 97 00:13:16.580 --> 00:13:31.360 jen freeman: Sometimes people with open voices are so wise about the nature of speech that they become like incredible speakers. So it's it. But it depends on how how they're what they're telling themselves about it, right? Like, oh, no one listens. 98 00:13:31.740 --> 00:13:38.060 jen freeman: It's it's really it's so. It's so literal and physical and mechanical. That's the other thing. It's 99 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:41.429 jen freeman: yeah. The throat is a big, big topic, a big topic. 100 00:13:41.430 --> 00:13:52.340 Sarah Santacroce: And it's a big topic in marketing as well, because you know the throat is your voice, and how you are going to be heard, and so, understanding 101 00:13:52.650 --> 00:14:20.139 Sarah Santacroce: what your role is in this lifetime, and how you're supposed to be sharing that voice. Well, that's that's kind of a big deal right. And if you're forcing yourself to do one thing like you know, speaking on stage. But then you find out after a reading. Well, that's not exactly what's going to be easy for you. It's still doable, probably, but it's not going to be easy for you. 102 00:14:20.510 --> 00:14:25.166 jen freeman: Exactly well, and and to your point, I'm I'm in the process like we chatted about it. 103 00:14:25.680 --> 00:14:37.099 jen freeman: This in inspiration came to me. I mean, it's I'm workshopping. But I'm my current note. Name is the current current Newsletter. So I have the. My. One of my main gates is the basically the now 104 00:14:37.250 --> 00:14:50.540 jen freeman: I'm literally the voice of the now. So this is part of me using my voice of like, I'm just so aware of the now. And you know I have a background with astrology and cosmologies, and and I've very drawn to create a newsletter 105 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:52.910 jen freeman: to help people in real time 106 00:14:53.020 --> 00:15:02.489 jen freeman: be with, especially as things are changing so radically that there's an underlying support that they can lean into the quality of time. There's a consistency in the quality of time. 107 00:15:02.990 --> 00:15:11.550 jen freeman: and it's straight up. It's it's part of me being like I am the voice of the now, that's all I ever talk about to anyone all the time. Right. 108 00:15:11.550 --> 00:15:12.230 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 109 00:15:12.270 --> 00:15:20.410 jen freeman: So it's cool, because I just feel like, all right, just try it. You've been doing it for years, anyway. Why not just do it, and so it gives it so I feel a sense of confidence. 110 00:15:20.410 --> 00:15:23.059 Sarah Santacroce: It gives you these insights. Right? The. 111 00:15:23.140 --> 00:15:24.379 jen freeman: It really does. 112 00:15:24.380 --> 00:15:34.330 Sarah Santacroce: Yes, I want to take another example from from my what I written down. Oh, as you know, I have a undefined head. 113 00:15:34.590 --> 00:15:49.730 Sarah Santacroce: and so a big thing of what I'm selling is inspiration. Right? Is change, inspiration to do things differently. So yeah, understanding that. And just saying. 114 00:15:50.800 --> 00:16:10.839 Sarah Santacroce: because people kind of wonder sometimes, you know, family members like, what are you doing like? You're writing books like, how does that make any money? Or I'm like, well, that's that's my role in this lifetime is to inspire and bring about change and talk about change. And so just. 115 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:32.549 Sarah Santacroce: And it's not always easy to accept that either. To say, you know, is this like what I'm doing like? Shouldn't I be going back to, you know, selling Linkedin profile reviews and things like that? But I was not happy in that role, right? And I'm also a 5 1, as you know. And so it's all about. 116 00:16:32.630 --> 00:16:51.410 Sarah Santacroce: you know, spreading the message to a large audience. And so understanding that and going, okay, so yeah, I'll just accept that role. And this is what I do is, yeah, it's kind of like this big relief and big understanding as well. 117 00:16:51.780 --> 00:17:13.130 jen freeman: Oh, that's so beautiful. And and just I wanna point out to your listeners that part of what Sarah's talking about right now is that over the years we've known each other. Is that so? Being a 5, 1 means part of her role is one to many. She's here to amplify messages to larger groups of people, where, when she was selling the Linkedin profile that was one to one essentially. 118 00:17:13.130 --> 00:17:14.099 Sarah Santacroce: Right, yeah. 119 00:17:14.109 --> 00:17:16.119 jen freeman: And so it was not the right 120 00:17:16.469 --> 00:17:31.719 jen freeman: use where you can feel, and it just is off. It's like you're wearing like shoes a size too small, with a pebble in it. You know it just feels wrong. So it's in. And that's the thing. Also, like Sarah just expressed that accepting your design does not mean 121 00:17:32.309 --> 00:17:34.539 jen freeman: oh, no, I guess I just have to like 122 00:17:34.919 --> 00:17:51.059 jen freeman: oh, it's right. It's not like you're settling like you're like, oh, I had these dreams, and then, you know, and now I'm just going to settle for my design. It's like No, no, your design. The more you align with it, then totally unexpected synchronicities and possibilities open up things you could never have imagined. 123 00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:52.060 Sarah Santacroce: It's. 124 00:17:52.060 --> 00:17:55.499 jen freeman: And that's part of the mystery of all of this, you know. 125 00:17:55.850 --> 00:18:11.800 jen freeman: and as Sarah knows, I have a 20 plus years of Qigong background which is working with Chi for those who don't know it, working with energy. And this just completely maps to Qigong as well. You have to know your piece of the puzzle, as my teacher would say. If you know your piece of the puzzle. 126 00:18:11.900 --> 00:18:14.400 jen freeman: then you can fall into the hole effortlessly. 127 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:30.289 jen freeman: But if you're fighting your piece of the puzzle, and you're and you're like struggling to be something else. You can't actually connect into all the resources clients. It's it's it's it's so paradoxical, but it's like the more you can accept the limitation, the more you can thrive. 128 00:18:30.540 --> 00:18:39.099 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm, yeah, it's beautiful. There's there's another thing that I wrote down here is that I'm selling to twos. 129 00:18:39.260 --> 00:18:39.790 Sarah Santacroce: So. 130 00:18:39.790 --> 00:18:40.700 jen freeman: Yeah. 131 00:18:40.950 --> 00:18:41.850 Sarah Santacroce: That. 132 00:18:42.620 --> 00:18:50.200 Sarah Santacroce: How does that have to do? What does that have to do with the with the centers? Or is that something else? I can't remember how we got to that. 133 00:18:50.520 --> 00:19:01.199 jen freeman: Yeah, yeah, me, neither. Actually, the lines that's in lines and profile stuff. And that's styles of learning. That's so. It's not. It's not actually, it's not the centers. It's. 134 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:02.329 Sarah Santacroce: That's about the centers. Okay. 135 00:19:02.330 --> 00:19:02.949 jen freeman: Sounded like. 136 00:19:02.950 --> 00:19:04.649 Sarah Santacroce: Action from the centers. Okay. 137 00:19:04.650 --> 00:19:07.359 jen freeman: Yeah, it's more like a well 138 00:19:07.450 --> 00:19:31.910 jen freeman: to be just for those whose minds might be like, huh? So there's Gates, and those gates are fixed in a hexagram from the I Ching. The I Ching has 6 lines, so so part of what Sarah is saying is that like? So let's say she has 53, and 54 is her son and earth right? So if it's 0 point 2, it means the second line of the Hexagram. So it's incredibly precise and specific 139 00:19:31.910 --> 00:19:53.120 jen freeman: and very helpful. But but in the twos just also complete. They're they are projecting outward. But they don't actually understand. Other people can see them. They're kind of very mysterious, the twos, you know. And so in a lot of ways, Sarah, with the 5 of like she's holding up the flag of like, Hey, I've got answers over here. 140 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:55.430 jen freeman: Opportunities to be like. 141 00:19:55.730 --> 00:20:02.869 jen freeman: can someone actually help me, you know, and of course many of us will be going towards the 5, but also 2 and 5 142 00:20:03.020 --> 00:20:14.029 jen freeman: are related in the lower Hexagram and the upper hexagram. It goes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, so 2 and 5 are are both projected on as well. 143 00:20:14.030 --> 00:20:14.940 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm, so. 144 00:20:14.940 --> 00:20:18.619 jen freeman: So. So there's a deep relationship between the fives and the twos. 145 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:23.649 Sarah Santacroce: So okay, let's bring it back to the the centers. What? What? 146 00:20:24.470 --> 00:20:29.620 Sarah Santacroce: you know? What else can you tell us about these centers? I think they like a 147 00:20:29.740 --> 00:20:38.230 Sarah Santacroce: I feel like they come with a lot of vulnerability and and conditioning, as you have mentioned before. Right? So there's a big 148 00:20:38.540 --> 00:20:41.260 Sarah Santacroce: opportunity for healing, I guess. 149 00:20:41.700 --> 00:20:57.110 jen freeman: Such a big opportunity. And so and this is where, understanding that we are all conditioned. It's the nature of being a human being that from the moment we're born we're being conditioned. We call it culture. We call it family, right? So no one gets out of conditioning. So this is not 150 00:20:57.250 --> 00:21:07.760 jen freeman: this, is it? This is part of being human being. So then, from that place you can then go. Okay. How do I be wise about my conditioning. So I I have a totally open Asna of the thinking mind. 151 00:21:08.090 --> 00:21:23.740 jen freeman: And so and again, this is never ending. You're constantly refining this. It's not like you learn it once, and then you move on. It's like it's constant. So I've been in this past couple of months, and a very deep understanding of how deeply my mind is stimulated. 152 00:21:24.340 --> 00:21:50.990 jen freeman: and how important it is for me to be very aware and careful of what I put into my mind, especially as we're in all of these changes all over the world, right? As we're in this great moment of emergency emergence. There's a lot of people pouring a lot of fear and panic into the field where it's not good for my mind at all. Not that it's good for any mind, right, but if you have a fixed mind. It's not going to hit you the same. So I had to have a really deep process of being with. 153 00:21:51.310 --> 00:22:07.500 jen freeman: Who am I gonna look to for information. How am I gonna interact, you know, especially being in the States right enough, said the States. Quite a place right now. So and it was very pivotal to me to be like. Look, your mind is incredibly sensitive. 154 00:22:08.060 --> 00:22:14.509 jen freeman: You don't help anyone or anything by flooding your mind with all of this toxicity. 155 00:22:14.690 --> 00:22:18.770 jen freeman: I'm not designed for it, you know, someone with a fixed mind 156 00:22:19.020 --> 00:22:25.020 jen freeman: in a lot of ways. They're they're meant to be out there like hitting people with their thoughts. Basically, it's like they can like, do this. 157 00:22:25.020 --> 00:22:28.710 Sarah Santacroce: They're the ones invading you with their stories. Right? 158 00:22:28.710 --> 00:22:49.379 jen freeman: You know. And so and that's something where I've been. I really had to come to peace with and really, deeply be like, okay, if I feel drawn, I will go. Listen to a person, you know an article, a podcast. But other than that, I'm going to trust spirits going to bring me what I need to know, to play my part hopefully for the the benefit of all beings. Right? The sense of but it's part of that. 159 00:22:50.140 --> 00:23:00.760 jen freeman: I got to be real about the vulnerability, and both my parents had fixed minds so also to bring in again family. So in this journey of learning, how deeply their minds 160 00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:02.790 jen freeman: impacted me. 161 00:23:03.020 --> 00:23:13.289 jen freeman: So really, bit by bit, over time, unpacking like, Oh, wait! That's Mom's fears. Oh, that's oh, wait! That's how Dad approaches it right, and they're both fives. 162 00:23:13.520 --> 00:23:25.909 jen freeman: So they have a very different gig. I'm a i'm a 1 3. So I'm much more my own test tube. I get to come out and share my research right. But I got conditioned to think I was supposed to be 163 00:23:26.040 --> 00:23:38.809 jen freeman: something else, and that was very painful. So again, the more you can recognize your conditioning. And so the great place for your listeners to start very simply, I mean, complexly, but simply. Look at your family origin. 164 00:23:39.390 --> 00:23:52.699 jen freeman: What was held as values? Right? Was it money? Was it education? Was it family? Were they very open-minded and international? Were they very closed-minded like like, and not from a judgment place. Just true observation. 165 00:23:53.070 --> 00:24:03.289 jen freeman: and then look at your own centers. Look, where are you? Open, where were you being conditioned? If you have the capacity, you can run free charts all over the place. You could look at your mom and dad's chart if you knew the birth info. 166 00:24:03.740 --> 00:24:08.070 jen freeman: and you can. Just that is profound, profound. 167 00:24:08.070 --> 00:24:09.670 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm, hmm. 168 00:24:10.180 --> 00:24:16.300 jen freeman: So that's a great place to start right. And then, if we want to go straight to marketing business application. 169 00:24:16.600 --> 00:24:36.210 jen freeman: look at your business model. Look at your design right? And and so let's again take me because I know my design. When I was in 100 commission, financial huge egos everywhere. It was not my strength at all. But once I let go. I've had this coaching and consulting business for 12 years. 170 00:24:36.940 --> 00:24:49.879 jen freeman: I'm just being me bringing forward my research. That's all about spirit embodiment. These are my gates. How do you bring spirit into matter? How do you truly be aligned with the now in a powerful way and speak powerfully. 171 00:24:50.030 --> 00:24:53.279 jen freeman: so I just let go into it, and I'm very happy. 172 00:24:53.889 --> 00:24:54.500 Sarah Santacroce: Happy. 173 00:24:54.500 --> 00:24:57.870 jen freeman: Don't feel like I'm swimming upstream. People just find me. 174 00:24:58.440 --> 00:25:13.920 jen freeman: I just it's great. So that's what I would love for them to hear as well is just. If you feel like you're stuck, or suffering, or difficult man, there is a way, and it's not far or hard. It's actually right in front of you and these centers. 175 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:19.130 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. And what I, what I like about this is that we're not trying to. 176 00:25:19.910 --> 00:25:25.059 Sarah Santacroce: you know, use human design as some kind of tactic that we're now going to 177 00:25:25.160 --> 00:25:43.200 Sarah Santacroce: go into psycho mode, and, you know, try to get because we don't have access to our clients. Human design, usually, at least not our prospects. Human design. It's all about finding out more who you are. 178 00:25:43.450 --> 00:25:43.880 jen freeman: Yes. 179 00:25:43.880 --> 00:26:06.409 Sarah Santacroce: Using that to your advantage, and being more authentic, being the real, you right that that's what this is all about, and and for people listening. I think they probably understand by now that this is complex, you know, like this is very complex. There's all these different layers. 180 00:26:06.970 --> 00:26:26.749 Sarah Santacroce: And yeah, if if you're interested in finding out more and going a bit deeper. Well, Jen is coming back to us to the Humane marketing circle to do another workshop on June 4, th Jen, tell us a little bit what we're going to be doing on June 4.th 181 00:26:26.970 --> 00:26:55.399 jen freeman: Great. So one of my favorite things to do with coaching groups, such as Sarah's, is that we'll have an introduction looking at the main thing. But then we're going to have 5 people that will have their charts in advance that are essentially on the hot seat. So we get to talk for 5 to 10 min with each person, and look at the application so that you in real time can learn. You can see. And it's just fascinating how different each person is right. And then you hear their stories of how they've been applying it, or what they're doing in their business. And it's 182 00:26:55.490 --> 00:27:18.800 jen freeman: it's it is so inspiring. Speaking of, you know, inspiration right? So hopefully, you would leave that workshop both with an idea of how your own charts working, looking at like, where? Where are the strengths like? Where? Where? You're already playing to your strengths? And so you're like great. Just more of that, and be able to go. Oh, right, I'm trying to do this over here, you know. Maybe I should not do that. And so I think you we learn so much from each other 183 00:27:19.820 --> 00:27:23.559 jen freeman: to see multiple people, especially in this back to back way. 184 00:27:23.910 --> 00:27:26.559 jen freeman: It's like magic. It really is like magic. 185 00:27:26.560 --> 00:27:31.930 Sarah Santacroce: Exactly. Even if your chart doesn't get picked. It's like, Oh, wow! I have this one, too. So 186 00:27:31.930 --> 00:27:32.969 Sarah Santacroce: yeah, no wonder 187 00:27:32.970 --> 00:27:56.720 Sarah Santacroce: I'm doing this. And I like this marketing tactic. Or no wonder I don't like that one. So yeah, so much wisdom coming out of that. So I can't wait to. Yeah, to have you talk to us about open and or defined and undefined centers. But for people who can't make it to the workshop, please tell 188 00:27:56.980 --> 00:28:02.410 Sarah Santacroce: tell listeners where they can find you and your newsletter that you're going to be. 189 00:28:02.410 --> 00:28:31.209 jen freeman: Yeah, that's right. Yeah. So my website's Jen Freemanco, JENF. REEM, a, n.co. And I offer one of the things is I call them the Decode, your design sessions. And I've actually created my own method includes human design, astrology, numerology, and something called the personality system because I really love Meta context. I love looking at the real big picture and then helping give people a strategy of how to, because to me how to live a happy life. 190 00:28:31.300 --> 00:28:47.649 jen freeman: It's like really loving, understanding your vehicle understanding like what who you are, what you're here to do. And so so. And I also do ongoing coaching with people based on this kind of stuff as well. And one thing I want to say just to really. 191 00:28:47.860 --> 00:29:01.239 jen freeman: I really hope from my heart to your heart. Whoever's listening as much as there's complexity, and there is. There is a simplicity here that if you, if you only heard this. Just understand, there's a way that you are 192 00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:19.799 jen freeman: a radio station that's putting out, and there's a way that you are receiving. If you want to call it Yin and Yang. There's a fundamental dynamic going, and the more you can be curious about that, the more you're going to free yourself up from so much, so just even that alone could take you so far. 193 00:29:19.800 --> 00:29:35.750 Sarah Santacroce: What I'll never forget from our reading is is where you showed me. You know the push against and the resistance that creates. And yeah, that image keeps coming back. I'm like, don't push, don't push, it's not. It's not going to be easier. So just. 194 00:29:36.231 --> 00:29:42.970 jen freeman: I'm good. I'm so glad. And I really it's a great joy. This 195 00:29:43.110 --> 00:29:59.169 jen freeman: this whole thing Sarah and I are talking about, and we both share this as a value, I feel confident in it. We want to see a world that's happier and healthier, where people are more engaged. They're not stuck in their conditioning. They're bringing forward their unique gifts. They're able to. Really. 196 00:29:59.330 --> 00:30:10.749 jen freeman: it is going to be through business. It's gonna be through how we connect with each other. It's just, and that's part of both our passion. We want people to really know who they are and succeed and thrive everywhere in our lives. 197 00:30:11.570 --> 00:30:20.709 Sarah Santacroce: Beautiful. So yeah, please join us humane dot marketing forward slash workshop. And it's taking place on June 4.th 198 00:30:21.110 --> 00:30:29.710 Sarah Santacroce: Thanks so much for doing this little preview for our listeners here on the podcast and I can't wait to see you. Thanks, Jen. 199 00:30:29.850 --> 00:30:31.130 jen freeman: I look forward to it.

5/23/25 • 30:34

In this heartfelt solo episode, Sarah Santacroce invites you into Conversations for Change—a series of meaningful gatherings designed to help us unlearn the hustle, reimagine business with more humanity, and gently recalibrate our own path. You'll hear about the fundraiser supporting the launch of her new book Business Like We're Human and how you can join these transformative conversations that blend reflection, connection, and action. If you're ready to do business in a way that feels aligned, spacious, and true to who you are, this invitation is for you. Each workshop explores one part of the book's journey: Wake Up: Let's shine a light on outdated systems and inherited beliefs around work and worth. Reimagine: We'll dream boldly about what a truly humane business might look like. Recalibrate: We'll ground those dreams into practical shifts—in mindset, systems, and relationships. Integrate: Finally, we'll reflect on how to sustain those shifts with grace and spaciousness. Support the launch here -- Speaker 0: hello, friends. today, i'm coming with a bit of a special episode, a bit of a self serving episode. i hope throughout the months and years, i, always give enough value so that you feel like, yeah, you love listening to this show and, learn a lot from our conversations with, my guests. but today, i'm coming here and sharing about two offerings that are part of my life's work to guide us towards a more humane way to do marketing and business. you've probably heard me talk about this third book. i've been hinting at it for a long time now that i've been quietly working on. it's called business like we're human. and, yeah. this book, it's close to my heart. it's about business. yes. but really, it's about us. it's about remembering our own humanity in the hustle and about finding inner peace so that we can create outer change. in my first two books, marketing like we're human and selling like we're human, i wrote about being gentle and more humane towards our clients. and this third one, it turns the mirror gently towards ourselves. we're really in a moment of reckoning. so many of us are questioning the rules we were taught about business. maybe you too are tired of the constant striving, the 6 figure hype, the pressure to scale at all costs. i know that i am. and that's why this book follows a different rhythm, a rhythm that aligns more with nature than with spreadsheets. and the framework i've used in this book is inspired by the peace symbol, and the journey unfolds in four stages. the first one is called wake up. the second one is reimagine. the third one is recalibrate. and the final one is integrate. and i truly believe this book needs to be experienced, not just read. i have received a a few books in recent times, business books, where i just noticed how i don't have the mental energy to sit there and read the whole book by myself. and i also feel like what we're doing in the humane marketing community is so valuable to sit together and find solutions that work for each of us and not just, you know, feel like we have to apply exactly what we're being taught. so this is why i'm launching this book through a series of facilitated gatherings that i'm calling conversations for change. so they are not lectures. yes. i'm going to bring some ideas from the book. but then the idea is really to go into breakout rooms and and talk about these things, talk about the unlearning maybe that we have to do from the toxic business advice, and then reimagine together what this new way of doing business that fits into our lives rather than having to fit our lives around our business could look like. so they are conversations, meaningful conversations, hopefully, gentle spaces for reflection, insight, and connection. and i have run these workshops before as a beta inside the humane marketing circle, and, yeah, the experience was incredibly moving. i'm gonna read you two testimonials. monica said, the workshops with sarah made me feel that i can offer myself permission to step outside the box and run a business from a space of wild creativity and roaring courage. i feel that anything is possible. and stephanie shared, these workshops helped me see that a truly successful business is one that is not only empathic to clients, but also creates space for me to be human, take care of myself, and connect with the world around me. i've never felt more certain that these conversations matter. so here's the invitation from one human to another. please join us for the conversations for change. they're running from june 10 to july 1. and this fundraiser that i'm running right now that gives you access to these conversations for change as well as the ebook, business like we're human, and the audiobook version that i already recorded of business like we're human, is running right now. so from may 9 to june 9, you can help us together raise the funds in a crowdfunding activity. and if you go to humane.marketing/conversationsforchange, you will find out all the details. each workshop explores one part of the book's journey. so wake up, we are gonna shine a light on outdated systems and inherited beliefs around work and worth. in reimagine, we'll dream boldly about what a truly humane business might look like for each of us because it's different for each of us. in the third workshop, recalibrate will ground those dreams into practical shifts in mindset, systems, and relationships. and finally, in integrate, the fourth workshop will reflect on how to sustain those shifts with grace and spaciousness. each of these sessions is sixty minutes long. and if you can't attend live or all of them, i totally understand replays will be available in a private hub. so, again, the all the details are at humane.marketing/conversationsforchange. and what you're really doing is helping all of us put this book out there, create this message, and then having conversations around it. and if this message really resonates with you, there's one more way to support. you can become an affiliate and actually help spread the word. and by doing that, uh, you earn $10 for each person who signs up for the conversations. you find the link to sign up as an affiliate at the bottom of the fundraiser page. again, the link is humane.marketing/conversationsforchange. so i look forward to seeing you at least at one of these conversations. it's gonna be special, i feel. i told you i was gonna talk about two offerings. the second offering i wanted to share about is the marketing like we're human program. that's based on my framework of the seven p's of humane marketing. you're already familiar with the seven p's. if you're a regular on this podcast, i mention them all the time. all the conversations here are based on the seven p's of humane marketing. but in the program, we go deep into them and really take the time to define them for our business. and it all starts from who you are, your passion, and your person, as well as your personal power. like, what makes you uniquely you? and then we go into people, product, pricing, promotion, and partnership. so it's really a blend of personal development and pragmatic marketing and business building. it's for entrepreneurs at any stage in business. we have beginning entrepreneurs who come on the market now and just know have this deep knowing that they want to do marketing differently than so many of the examples they see out there. but we also have people with twenty years of experience because they finally want to unlearn all the pushy tactics, and guru advice that i i include myself, we have been learning over the last twenty years and instead want to market from who they are and just bring more integrity and ethical, support into their business and life's work. there are many case studies and testimonials on the program page. so if this is of interest to you, please go have a look at those testimonials. there's videos from from participants because, yes, obviously, it's still marketing. right? and we have such, baggage around these marketing programs that whenever i speak to people, you know, there's still a bit of fear. well, sarah, how is this going to be different from all the programs that i've already attended? so, that's why i'm taking so much time to create these testimonials. so you can find them all at humane.marketing/program. we start on june 5 for another live cohort. the early bird, yes, it's over. it ended april 30. but if you book a call with me through the program page and mention the word podcast, either when we talk or in an email, i'd love to honor your fidelity as a as a listener with a hundred dollar discount. so just mention that word podcast or, you know, you don't have to say it like a robot. it will come up in the conversation. and, yeah, i'd be happy to give you a hundred dollar discount. thank you so much for letting me share about my life's work. i appreciate you as a listener to the humane marketing podcast. take care, and i hope to see you and meet you at the conversations for change.

5/16/25 • 11:22

In this episode of Humane Marketing podcast, I'm joined by Polly Hearsey for a deep and refreshing conversation about radically reinventing business. Together, we explore how heart-centered entrepreneurs can move beyond fear-based tactics, align with natural rhythms, simplify offerings, and build businesses rooted in service, integrity, and community. If you're ready to treat your business as a living, evolving ecosystem—and break free from outdated rules—you'll find inspiration and real-world guidance here. This is business reimagined for a more humane world. Here's what we discussed in this episode: Buyers are more skeptical and seek authenticity over hype. Clients sense the true intent behind messaging; fear- or scarcity-based offers don't resonate. Aligning business with natural and seasonal rhythms creates a more sustainable presence. Flexibility is key-evolve offerings in real time based on current needs. Simplifying offerings-less but deeper-better meets people's needs. Treat business as a living, evolving ecosystem rather than a machine to optimize. Root work in service and integrity instead of focusing solely on profit. Shift away from endless growth; redefine success through depth and impact. Build business around community, connection, and co-creation rather than competition. Practice courageous listening to ourselves, clients, and the world-and act on what we hear. And most importantly, break all the rules and question all the assumptions you have around business. Watch this episode on YouTube -- 1 00:00:01.610 --> 00:00:04.559 Sarah Santacroce: Hi, Polly, it's good to speak to you again. 2 00:00:04.560 --> 00:00:12.699 Polly Hearsey: Thanks. You know, I always enjoy coming to talk to you because it's just it's fun to suggest. Go where we go. It's it's all. 3 00:00:12.700 --> 00:00:13.170 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 4 00:00:13.170 --> 00:00:13.820 Polly Hearsey: Light. 5 00:00:14.100 --> 00:00:14.600 Polly Hearsey: Thank you. 6 00:00:14.600 --> 00:00:23.210 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, it's kind of like one of the things that I feel like. That's my zone of genius. And I know it's yours to. 7 00:00:23.330 --> 00:00:46.690 Sarah Santacroce: you know, reimagine, rethink differently. And so really, that's what I want to do today. And I was just telling you, I think we can do half of the episode or the beginning of the episode about today, right now and then look into the future. So so yeah, let's let's start there. You know, it's quite the time we live in. And there's 8 00:00:46.810 --> 00:00:54.670 Sarah Santacroce: there's probably I can sense the fear in entrepreneurship. And yeah, I'm just 9 00:00:55.170 --> 00:01:00.949 Sarah Santacroce: maybe start us off before we go into taking action, start us off with 10 00:01:01.150 --> 00:01:06.680 Sarah Santacroce: explaining what you sense energetically. What is going on. 11 00:01:08.320 --> 00:01:14.060 Polly Hearsey: I think that there's been a big shift in the buyer market 12 00:01:14.500 --> 00:01:22.949 Polly Hearsey: in terms of what they want and what they're expecting, and the way in which they've been burnt in the past. 13 00:01:24.600 --> 00:01:30.500 Polly Hearsey: And there's definitely an ability to read through the hype 14 00:01:30.730 --> 00:01:36.349 Polly Hearsey: right? And the promises. So there's a lot of skepticism, I would say, building. 15 00:01:37.123 --> 00:01:47.610 Polly Hearsey: So. And you see that when people put ads out say on Facebook or something, and you read the comments and the threads, it'll just be. Get the just people be tearing into them because it's not. 16 00:01:47.790 --> 00:01:48.180 Sarah Santacroce: It. 17 00:01:48.180 --> 00:01:48.870 Polly Hearsey: So I'm asking. 18 00:01:48.870 --> 00:01:50.240 Sarah Santacroce: Feel so fake. It's fake. 19 00:01:50.240 --> 00:02:00.419 Polly Hearsey: Feels fake and and the promises feel overhyped. You know, state, and particularly in the space that we're in. 20 00:02:00.690 --> 00:02:05.689 Polly Hearsey: We've got a lot of economic turmoil, and we've got a but 21 00:02:06.060 --> 00:02:11.710 Polly Hearsey: but even before the sort of like the very recent economic turmoil, what we had was 22 00:02:12.470 --> 00:02:18.240 Polly Hearsey: a lot of well established businesses, we're sliding. 23 00:02:18.810 --> 00:02:19.250 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 24 00:02:19.250 --> 00:02:23.800 Polly Hearsey: And they were keeping it under wraps. And I also noticed a lot of people who'd. 25 00:02:24.410 --> 00:02:34.189 Polly Hearsey: Yeah, maybe 6 years ago had been very present, and then they'd slid off my radar. And then all of a sudden, they've started advertising. That tells me that their business is slipping. 26 00:02:34.420 --> 00:02:35.010 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 27 00:02:35.010 --> 00:02:44.320 Polly Hearsey: And that's because the way in which they were approaching it through this sort of psychological, persuasion-based approach. 28 00:02:45.580 --> 00:02:52.540 Polly Hearsey: It's not working, because once you know that it's happening to you. It doesn't work anymore. So people becoming very wise. 29 00:02:52.710 --> 00:02:58.950 Polly Hearsey: And but I also think that people want something different now. They don't want the same old 30 00:02:59.310 --> 00:03:12.899 Polly Hearsey: heavy investments long term, because they don't feel that they have a grasp on where things are going to be in 3 months. So why would I invest in an 8 month, 10 month, 12 month program 31 00:03:13.390 --> 00:03:17.909 Polly Hearsey: to support myself in whatever area I needed 32 00:03:18.130 --> 00:03:27.189 Polly Hearsey: when I don't know where I'm going to be. Am I going to be the same person? Am I going to want to do the same sort of things? Because I think people can feel so much bubbling up within them 33 00:03:27.300 --> 00:03:32.310 Polly Hearsey: that they're not entirely sure how they're going to respond to it. 34 00:03:32.680 --> 00:03:33.110 Sarah Santacroce: So. 35 00:03:33.110 --> 00:03:44.109 Polly Hearsey: Big investments don't make an awful lot of sense. And yet some of these very established businesses that's a lot of money to invest with them on something where they're not getting one to one support. 36 00:03:44.110 --> 00:03:46.150 Sarah Santacroce: Right? It's always group, giant group. 37 00:03:46.150 --> 00:04:01.209 Polly Hearsey: Giant groups. And it's like, Oh, the value is in the information. No, the value isn't in the information anymore. We have AI proliferating that can turn information into process, but without any nuanced understanding 38 00:04:01.690 --> 00:04:03.810 Polly Hearsey: of how to deliver it. 39 00:04:03.810 --> 00:04:04.420 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 40 00:04:04.420 --> 00:04:11.400 Polly Hearsey: So what people are now looking for is more human contact. And yet we've built business structures 41 00:04:11.600 --> 00:04:13.109 Polly Hearsey: that remove that. 42 00:04:13.310 --> 00:04:13.920 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 43 00:04:13.920 --> 00:04:23.200 Polly Hearsey: And so all the expectations about how you automate everything and how you run one to many, and all of that is oh. 44 00:04:23.340 --> 00:04:30.899 Polly Hearsey: you know I mean, education hasn't lost its value. But information has, I think. And so so it's changing expectations. So I think 45 00:04:31.070 --> 00:04:45.089 Polly Hearsey: that puts us in a position where we need to be really agile to respond, and creative as well. So we're not just going. Oh, God, I've got to try a little bit harder to make something that's always worked work because it's not going to. 46 00:04:45.090 --> 00:04:49.070 Sarah Santacroce: Right. You can't just push harder and think it's gonna. 47 00:04:49.190 --> 00:04:54.919 Polly Hearsey: You see that with the classic old, give me your email address and I'll give you something of value. 48 00:04:55.090 --> 00:04:57.479 Polly Hearsey: How hard is that to push right now. 49 00:04:57.480 --> 00:04:58.869 Sarah Santacroce: Right? It's yeah. 50 00:04:58.870 --> 00:05:17.000 Polly Hearsey: Do not want yet another, because I don't know about you. My inbox is unmanageable. I spent tail end of last year unsubscribing. I spent a whole day just going unsubscribe, unsubscribe, unsubscribe. Stop sending me so much stuff. I don't read it. I do not have the capacity to read it. 51 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:17.390 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 52 00:05:17.390 --> 00:05:18.890 Polly Hearsey: But people don't want that. 53 00:05:18.890 --> 00:05:19.420 Sarah Santacroce: No. 54 00:05:19.420 --> 00:05:28.300 Polly Hearsey: And there was an interesting thread on substack. I was reading yesterday where people were saying, what I want is the ability to buy a single article 55 00:05:28.520 --> 00:05:32.530 Polly Hearsey: stop making me subscribe, because there are so many writers here. 56 00:05:32.690 --> 00:05:36.970 Polly Hearsey: but I want to be able to subscribe to pay for one article, awesome and 57 00:05:36.970 --> 00:05:38.760 Polly Hearsey: interesting reflection of where we're at. 58 00:05:38.760 --> 00:05:58.989 Sarah Santacroce: That's kind of what I took away from your newsletter the other day where I was like, oh, I got to have you back on the podcast where you talked about bite. Sized. Right? Yeah. Like, people want small bits, and they want to yes experience. Your work before engaging in any length of program. 59 00:05:59.130 --> 00:06:26.720 Sarah Santacroce: And and yeah, like, I, just, I'm experimenting this year with instead of a 3 month program. I'm running the marketing like we're human in a 5 week program, and I already see the difference, like people who've gone through it in January. They tell me it was so much easier to decide, because it's 5 weeks, and I can. I can handle that like you said I don't know. 3 months, I'm you know, all over the place in 3 months, and so. 60 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:27.140 Polly Hearsey: Yeah. 61 00:06:27.140 --> 00:06:30.469 Sarah Santacroce: Weeks. Yes, just sound easier. And I think. 62 00:06:30.470 --> 00:06:37.489 Polly Hearsey: People wanted to know what they're going to do with that, you know, and 3 months down the line it feels like a very long time. 63 00:06:37.490 --> 00:06:37.900 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 64 00:06:37.900 --> 00:06:50.989 Polly Hearsey: Not, but it feels like a very long time, whereas 5 weeks it doesn't. And I, I ran a couple of 3 week programs this year, and that was much easier for people, although it wasn't easier for me. 65 00:06:51.210 --> 00:06:55.530 Polly Hearsey: actually, because I and I know how much I 66 00:06:55.750 --> 00:06:58.989 Polly Hearsey: want people to understand in order to be able to action it. 67 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:00.619 Sarah Santacroce: That's the thing right? 68 00:07:00.620 --> 00:07:04.469 Polly Hearsey: They had a little bit of a sort of like shockwave. 69 00:07:05.260 --> 00:07:21.509 Polly Hearsey: So I got so I just said to them at the end of it instead, I wasn't going to do a pitch at the end of it. I just said, Look, take your time, process it. Expect to go, you know. Come out of this high and come down through this processing, and then you come out the other side of it. Just be gentle with yourself. 70 00:07:21.510 --> 00:07:22.020 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 71 00:07:22.020 --> 00:07:28.049 Polly Hearsey: But I have, you know, for me it's like I I couldn't in all integrity 72 00:07:28.370 --> 00:07:32.240 Polly Hearsey: offer you something that didn't cover all of the bases. 73 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:32.930 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 74 00:07:32.930 --> 00:07:43.810 Polly Hearsey: Even on, you know, I've scaled it back to just one focus. But I still, you know, I need to give you the information, because if you don't have that, then you've got missing pieces of the puzzle, and you're not gonna do anything with it. So. 75 00:07:43.810 --> 00:07:44.240 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 76 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:54.380 Polly Hearsey: There there is for us when we're actually designing stuff. There is a bit of a balancing act to go on there, because we we know what we need to do in order to be in integrity with our own values. 77 00:07:54.750 --> 00:07:56.010 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, exactly. 78 00:07:56.010 --> 00:07:59.260 Polly Hearsey: Equally responding to that changing need of. 79 00:07:59.880 --> 00:08:06.060 Polly Hearsey: I need something a little more immediate. I need something very specific. No, I mean. 80 00:08:06.530 --> 00:08:07.360 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 81 00:08:07.490 --> 00:08:18.009 Sarah Santacroce: yeah, what I did also because of the integrity piece. I I well, I've always had that. But I just have a flat fee where people can come again. 82 00:08:18.170 --> 00:08:38.470 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, next round and and often. That's a very much appreciated gesture, because it doesn't mean Oh, you failed, and you didn't, you know, integrate it? But it just gives them more time. And that's often the thing that we don't have in these programs is like, Oh, 5 weeks so much content. 83 00:08:38.470 --> 00:08:55.560 Sarah Santacroce: And then you're like, Oh, exhausted after. So yeah, having this flat fee for past participants has really yeah helped people. I think, also just giving them permission, giving themselves permission. Yeah, I'm going to do this again. And this is this, is that deep. 84 00:08:55.560 --> 00:08:59.670 Polly Hearsey: Yeah. And it's okay. Because every time it's like, when you read a book. 85 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:20.329 Polly Hearsey: when you read it the 1st time you have, you have particular paragraphs that jump out at you, and then you'll read it again. You think I'm really waiting for that moment, and it doesn't come, but it comes somewhere else, because you're just integrating and processing something else and understanding it. And if I think about my own journey through business because it's what it was 11 years now since 86 00:09:20.846 --> 00:09:22.190 Polly Hearsey: I started my business. 87 00:09:22.490 --> 00:09:25.110 Polly Hearsey: I don't recognize the person I was back then. 88 00:09:25.750 --> 00:09:29.929 Polly Hearsey: but if I go back to what I was talking about. I was talking about the same things. 89 00:09:29.930 --> 00:09:30.820 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 90 00:09:30.820 --> 00:09:36.080 Polly Hearsey: But my understanding of what I was talking about was very different. 91 00:09:36.080 --> 00:09:36.510 Sarah Santacroce: And. 92 00:09:36.510 --> 00:09:46.199 Polly Hearsey: And I knew that I had. In fact, I have a client who's worked with me over a number of years, say to me, and she'd had a break, and she came back and she said, the last program I ran, she said. 93 00:09:47.070 --> 00:09:50.520 Polly Hearsey: you've it's so much more coherent what you offer now. 94 00:09:51.080 --> 00:09:59.299 Polly Hearsey: Yeah, I mean, it feels that way. But it takes time to get there. It's like slow version of slow food version of business, you know. 95 00:09:59.660 --> 00:10:00.380 Polly Hearsey: next time 96 00:10:00.380 --> 00:10:11.299 Polly Hearsey: to build the flavors and to understand the process, and and to really sort of settle yourself into it. And I think that's what we're missing. I think it's also a hint of where we're going. 97 00:10:12.090 --> 00:10:13.589 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, we'll get to that. 98 00:10:14.590 --> 00:10:16.540 Sarah Santacroce: But maybe 99 00:10:16.850 --> 00:10:25.899 Sarah Santacroce: so you're you're seeing these sub stack threads. And you know, listening to clients what they tell you, what do you feel like? Is is 100 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:37.190 Sarah Santacroce: well, their biggest fear right now. But also, what kind of mistakes are they making because they're in fear? So what kind of business mistakes are they making. 101 00:10:37.190 --> 00:10:44.929 Polly Hearsey: I think one of the biggest mistakes that people are making are trying to persist in being places and doing things that they aren't right for them. 102 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:45.960 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 103 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:51.359 Polly Hearsey: And I said at the end of last year that I think social media will really. 104 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:51.740 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 105 00:10:51.740 --> 00:10:53.939 Polly Hearsey: Have a massive shake up this year. 106 00:10:53.940 --> 00:10:54.770 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 107 00:10:55.410 --> 00:11:04.719 Polly Hearsey: And I do think that you know that sort of like the pressure to be on social media, to be on Tiktok, to be on Instagram to, you know, to have this visual presence. 108 00:11:05.410 --> 00:11:09.939 Polly Hearsey: People are realizing that it's not actually doing them any favors. 109 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:11.050 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 110 00:11:11.050 --> 00:11:19.060 Polly Hearsey: And where everybody's consciousness is at, it's about depth and precision. 111 00:11:20.004 --> 00:11:23.810 Polly Hearsey: The the wonderful Jess Lorimer says. 112 00:11:24.277 --> 00:11:31.489 Polly Hearsey: An inch wide a mile deep. That's and that's where we're at, not not a mile wide and an inch deep, which is where we've been. 113 00:11:31.490 --> 00:11:33.560 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, all the time. Right? 114 00:11:33.560 --> 00:11:34.690 Polly Hearsey: That depth. 115 00:11:35.010 --> 00:11:43.279 Polly Hearsey: So it's about having deeper conversations, about deeper connection, and that is so hard to achieve in sound bites. 116 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:44.210 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 117 00:11:44.420 --> 00:11:45.220 Polly Hearsey: So when I say. 118 00:11:45.220 --> 00:11:46.089 Sarah Santacroce: Think of bias. We're. 119 00:11:46.090 --> 00:11:47.720 Polly Hearsey: And it's big of the sound bites. 120 00:11:47.720 --> 00:11:55.709 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, we're wanting bite, sized things that we're offering. And yet we want to go deep. 121 00:11:55.710 --> 00:12:04.489 Polly Hearsey: I think the thing is, it's about what is there within you that is going to stop someone in their tracks and make them think. 122 00:12:04.860 --> 00:12:05.650 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 123 00:12:05.650 --> 00:12:15.369 Polly Hearsey: What is something that's really going to land? I was saying something this week in a group that I'm in, I saying there is a difference between visibility and having your content received. 124 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:30.560 Polly Hearsey: You can be visible. You can be visible to millions of people. But that doesn't mean that content has achieved anything. And I think we have such a moral obligation to make sure that the content that we put out there actually has a meaning 125 00:12:30.830 --> 00:12:36.329 Polly Hearsey: and a value to somebody because it has a cost attached to it. 126 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:38.500 Polly Hearsey: It has a cost to our planet. 127 00:12:38.790 --> 00:12:39.560 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 128 00:12:39.560 --> 00:12:49.820 Polly Hearsey: And it's a permanent escalating cost, because it goes into data banks that have to be sustained with electricity and water and land. That 129 00:12:50.200 --> 00:12:51.670 Polly Hearsey: so, you know. 130 00:12:52.590 --> 00:13:02.750 Polly Hearsey: for me, it's there's a huge amount of integrity about saying, not putting out this very shallow content just because it gets abuse. It's about depth. 131 00:13:03.080 --> 00:13:09.610 Polly Hearsey: It's me that is the mistake that people are making, because they're still trying to use the old methods. 132 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:19.610 Polly Hearsey: So my conversation has always has been this year about, flip it, flip the script because you need to be thinking about. What can I do to create 133 00:13:20.040 --> 00:13:26.620 Polly Hearsey: the means for people to engage with me in a way that is actually meaningful for me and for my business. 134 00:13:26.620 --> 00:13:27.010 Sarah Santacroce: I'm. 135 00:13:27.010 --> 00:13:29.770 Polly Hearsey: Full for the people I support. 136 00:13:30.050 --> 00:13:39.709 Polly Hearsey: Yeah, that resonates in the business. Like, we're human book. I ask people to be assumption busters. 137 00:13:39.780 --> 00:14:05.429 Sarah Santacroce: Question all your assumptions that you have about business and social media and marketing, how it should be done, and then do it differently, like. I am so so tired of, you know, going on social media and looking what's out there, and everything is the same. It's like I was trying to break my brain about how to do this book launch, but do it differently. 138 00:14:05.430 --> 00:14:12.980 Sarah Santacroce: and not just follow the same copy and same structure that everybody else is doing. And so I think that's 139 00:14:13.010 --> 00:14:21.660 Sarah Santacroce: yeah. That's part of it. Like, how do we want to do this in a in a more human, engaging way, and not just be about. 140 00:14:22.010 --> 00:14:50.709 Sarah Santacroce: Well, let's just take this example. Not just be about a best selling author on Amazon, or, you know, getting a thousand reviews. What we're really doing is hustling for Bezos, who's taking all the benefit. And and we are just working like slaves to get those reviews. So like, question, all of these things that we have just bought as well. This is just how it is, and this is just how it works. 141 00:14:51.160 --> 00:14:55.430 Polly Hearsey: There is an assumption there, isn't it, that you don't have the power to change that. 142 00:14:55.430 --> 00:14:55.950 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 143 00:14:55.950 --> 00:15:05.900 Polly Hearsey: And that that's something I say all the time is like, don't underestimate your power. If you think about all of the new trends that happen. Someone started them somewhere. 144 00:15:06.355 --> 00:15:06.810 Sarah Santacroce: Yes. 145 00:15:06.810 --> 00:15:11.759 Polly Hearsey: So are you going to be a sheep, or are you going to be a leader? And that? And 146 00:15:11.890 --> 00:15:19.130 Polly Hearsey: when I talk about leadership, I know people sort of tend to go. It's not me. I'm not a leader because we have some really toxic 147 00:15:19.250 --> 00:15:20.250 Polly Hearsey: role models for. 148 00:15:20.250 --> 00:15:21.380 Sarah Santacroce: Leadership. 149 00:15:21.380 --> 00:15:24.390 Polly Hearsey: But there are different leaders coming. 150 00:15:24.390 --> 00:15:24.860 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 151 00:15:24.860 --> 00:15:28.660 Polly Hearsey: Quiet leaders, people who lead from the middle. And 152 00:15:28.980 --> 00:15:32.650 Polly Hearsey: you can have, you can create different ways of doing it. 153 00:15:33.556 --> 00:15:40.280 Polly Hearsey: And it doesn't have to be this sort of like standard standard approach. 154 00:15:40.390 --> 00:15:50.130 Polly Hearsey: And, in fact, the more subtle you are, the more creative you are, the more you're likely to be received because you're thinking, oh, hang on a second. 155 00:15:50.350 --> 00:15:55.519 Polly Hearsey: I didn't think I was being sold to like that. So I did in the program I did recently. 156 00:15:55.730 --> 00:16:03.689 Polly Hearsey: I set them all a task to produce a piece of content based on sort of understanding the the energetics of their business. 157 00:16:04.460 --> 00:16:08.829 Polly Hearsey: and they they produce the most extraordinary things. 158 00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:16.519 Polly Hearsey: And I asked them to share it because I wanted them to see the difference in reaction. 159 00:16:16.690 --> 00:16:20.879 Polly Hearsey: So you might get less of a reaction. But it'll be a deeper reaction. 160 00:16:20.880 --> 00:16:21.310 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 161 00:16:21.310 --> 00:16:30.949 Polly Hearsey: And so they got instant responses from people going. This spoke to me so deeply, and I asked them afterwards, said, Did you feel like you were selling. 162 00:16:31.070 --> 00:16:34.680 Polly Hearsey: and they said no, didn't feel like saying, but you were 163 00:16:35.190 --> 00:16:39.319 Polly Hearsey: still putting it on the table for people and people weren't feeling like they were being sold to. 164 00:16:39.320 --> 00:16:40.020 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 165 00:16:40.020 --> 00:16:46.110 Polly Hearsey: That's rebellious. That is the height of rebellion in a world that's all about. You've got to have conversions. 166 00:16:46.110 --> 00:16:50.020 Sarah Santacroce: Right? Yeah. So so do you feel like, that's 167 00:16:51.150 --> 00:16:57.769 Sarah Santacroce: right. Now, it feels like we're the outsiders. Still right? Do you think that's gonna Flip where. 168 00:16:57.770 --> 00:16:59.919 Polly Hearsey: I think it already has. 169 00:16:59.920 --> 00:17:02.010 Sarah Santacroce: It already has. Hmm. 170 00:17:02.010 --> 00:17:13.869 Polly Hearsey: But I don't think that some people are even aware I mean the last people to know that the change has happened to the people at the top. If you sort of mean, I think it has already changed, because 171 00:17:15.270 --> 00:17:29.110 Polly Hearsey: I mean, I just look at what people are talking about and just go. I've been saying that for 10 years. It's like slightly between gritted teeth. Which? But actually going? Well, if if everybody is now openly talking about that. 172 00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:33.509 Polly Hearsey: Then then a change has already happened. 173 00:17:34.540 --> 00:17:35.489 Sarah Santacroce: But I still. 174 00:17:35.490 --> 00:17:38.280 Polly Hearsey: Don't think that people know how to respond to it. 175 00:17:38.280 --> 00:17:42.829 Sarah Santacroce: Okay, yeah. Because what I see is like, when you talk to people 176 00:17:43.180 --> 00:17:46.700 Sarah Santacroce: they are like, yes, agreeing, you know, nodding their heads. 177 00:17:46.890 --> 00:17:49.670 Sarah Santacroce: But then when you see what they're posting. 178 00:17:49.790 --> 00:17:58.500 Sarah Santacroce: they're still adhering to the old rules, maybe because they don't. They don't have the new role models. They don't. 179 00:17:58.500 --> 00:18:14.359 Polly Hearsey: Have the alternative. So that's what that's what you and I are doing. We're providing them with the alternative. So we have to be the walking role models. We have to walk the talk and do it differently. And and that means we also have to be the experimenters. We have to fail a lot. 180 00:18:14.360 --> 00:18:17.720 Sarah Santacroce: Yes. Talk to me about that. Yeah. 181 00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:38.330 Polly Hearsey: And so that brings it. That's an interesting one, because it brings a degree of transparency about the fact that not all business efforts are successful. So this whole narrative that we've all come through in the last 4 years of this instant overnight success. Once I found out how to do XY. Or Z, because it was the missing piece. 182 00:18:38.330 --> 00:18:39.560 Sarah Santacroce: A magic pill. 183 00:18:39.560 --> 00:18:44.450 Polly Hearsey: The magic flipping wand and pill. Yes, it's that doesn't exist. 184 00:18:45.110 --> 00:18:49.029 Polly Hearsey: We we demonstrate that that doesn't exist. 185 00:18:49.480 --> 00:18:52.969 Polly Hearsey: and that actually, the real magic comes from 186 00:18:54.130 --> 00:18:56.910 Polly Hearsey: giving yourself permission to be creative. 187 00:18:56.910 --> 00:18:57.585 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 188 00:18:58.260 --> 00:19:10.650 Polly Hearsey: So that that has been challenging sort of like. Oh, right, I have to have a signature program and a signature talk, and I have to have a lead in, and I have to have an automation, and I have to have a welcome. All of these pieces 189 00:19:10.930 --> 00:19:15.639 Polly Hearsey: coming back to being assumption Busters. Why the hell do you actually need them? 190 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:15.970 Sarah Santacroce: Nice. 191 00:19:15.970 --> 00:19:20.860 Polly Hearsey: Seriously. Why do you need them? Do you have to have that? You can have something that is paid? 192 00:19:21.190 --> 00:19:25.380 Polly Hearsey: And here's the interesting thing in terms of the buyer behaviours. 193 00:19:25.580 --> 00:19:32.680 Polly Hearsey: People are more likely to give you $5 $10 for something. 194 00:19:33.270 --> 00:19:37.379 Polly Hearsey: and then do something with it than they are to take a freebie. 195 00:19:37.620 --> 00:19:38.219 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm, 196 00:19:38.820 --> 00:19:41.449 Polly Hearsey: So why do you have to produce any free content. 197 00:19:41.450 --> 00:19:42.260 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm! 198 00:19:42.980 --> 00:20:07.109 Sarah Santacroce: That's interesting. I was just thinking about my workbook that goes together with the with the book, and in the 2 previous books I just had it as a free download, and it felt good until I, you know, started to realize. Well, I want to know who's working on these books, and like, you know, and so I was like, well, I'll just add it as a donation. 199 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:12.380 Polly Hearsey: So that they can give. You know, however much they want, and. 200 00:20:12.670 --> 00:20:22.449 Sarah Santacroce: And I think that's when money feels good, if it's like, yes, I want to, you know, earn something for that. I've put a lot of effort and hours into it. 201 00:20:22.630 --> 00:20:34.440 Sarah Santacroce: But I understand your situation might be different, and you know, just kind of like putting it out there and explaining. I think a lot of what we're doing is explaining how things are. 202 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:38.810 Sarah Santacroce: so that there is that transparency because. 203 00:20:38.810 --> 00:20:39.190 Polly Hearsey: Yeah. 204 00:20:39.190 --> 00:20:41.150 Sarah Santacroce: People are. So 205 00:20:42.280 --> 00:21:00.709 Sarah Santacroce: you know, everything was so hidden and and opaque that yeah, it just needs that time now to make everything super clear. And yes, that starts with affiliate links. But it also, you know. We talked about AI in our community. It's like, well. 206 00:21:00.710 --> 00:21:17.480 Sarah Santacroce: say, when you're using AI and make that clear. So yeah, all these different things that we do to help people in that transition so that they can gain trust again because they lost all the trust in any kind of message. 207 00:21:18.020 --> 00:21:25.629 Polly Hearsey: Yeah. But I mean coming back to sort of like, your original point of opening this this bit was, you've got to work with the tools that you've got. 208 00:21:25.630 --> 00:21:26.000 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 209 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:31.049 Polly Hearsey: At your disposal right now, but it doesn't mean you have to work with them in the standard ways. 210 00:21:31.310 --> 00:21:31.730 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 211 00:21:31.730 --> 00:21:39.180 Polly Hearsey: So you can rethink those right now and think well, how can I do it? So you know some of the examples I gave in the Newsletter you referenced were. 212 00:21:39.600 --> 00:21:43.190 Polly Hearsey: why have a free substack? Why not just have a paid one? 213 00:21:43.540 --> 00:21:47.950 Polly Hearsey: You know you can use notes, or whatever to sort of like promote it. 214 00:21:48.060 --> 00:21:53.070 Polly Hearsey: You don't have to have a free one. You don't have to run one-to-one mentoring. 215 00:21:53.480 --> 00:22:11.460 Polly Hearsey: But bear in mind that the market doesn't want large groups. So how do you do that? How do you maximize that you can get really creative with the tools that you have and the technology that you have, but you can use it in a different way. So forget about the algorithms on Facebook 216 00:22:11.760 --> 00:22:24.439 Polly Hearsey: and do what feels good to you because it can guarantee that if you do what feels good to you, people will find it and engage with it, and then you'll actually be part of resetting the algorithm. Then, you know, in the short term. So 217 00:22:24.630 --> 00:22:29.929 Polly Hearsey: it it's think, stop stop thinking that you have to operate within the rules. 218 00:22:31.150 --> 00:22:40.199 Polly Hearsey: And my favorite, my favorite tool for business development is blank sheet of paper. What would you create if you didn't have any rules. 219 00:22:40.620 --> 00:22:44.659 Sarah Santacroce: What feels good, and then you might say, Oh, you know what. 220 00:22:45.810 --> 00:22:49.590 Polly Hearsey: That program was. And I did this myself this year. That program I was thinking of running. 221 00:22:49.890 --> 00:22:51.849 Polly Hearsey: I'm going to do it as pay what you want. 222 00:22:52.090 --> 00:22:52.770 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 223 00:22:52.770 --> 00:22:53.700 Polly Hearsey: Why not? 224 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:59.559 Sarah Santacroce: I mean, that's something you can do. Do not do that if you are dependent on the income. 225 00:22:59.870 --> 00:23:01.100 Sarah Santacroce: Right? Of course. 226 00:23:01.100 --> 00:23:02.940 Polly Hearsey: You've got the flexibility. 227 00:23:03.090 --> 00:23:08.499 Polly Hearsey: Why not see how it lands? See what people give, and people will give a whole spectrum. 228 00:23:09.210 --> 00:23:19.280 Polly Hearsey: You know, and it depends on whether or not they know you, whether or not they know the value of it. What their financial situation is, it makes it more accessible, and that honesty of accessibility 229 00:23:19.770 --> 00:23:23.759 Polly Hearsey: changes the relationship. So have your blank piece of paper. 230 00:23:23.890 --> 00:23:25.150 Polly Hearsey: Think what what can I do? 231 00:23:25.150 --> 00:23:45.379 Sarah Santacroce: I guess it's not easy, like we've been in entrepreneurship for a while, right? And we know that we are in charge. We make all the decisions in our business. But for new entrepreneurs I can. I can totally understand the overwhelm. It would be much easier to have, you know, a 7 step process on how this works. 232 00:23:45.380 --> 00:23:45.710 Polly Hearsey: I mean. 233 00:23:45.710 --> 00:23:47.460 Sarah Santacroce: That's not the time we're in. 234 00:23:47.660 --> 00:24:04.000 Polly Hearsey: No. And the thing is that there's there's 2 groups of people that I see at the moment. There's the new entrepreneurs who are actually basically in a frozen state, because they know that they don't want to proceed down the normal route, but they don't know what else to do. So they do dabble with it, and it burns them, you know. 235 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:04.899 Polly Hearsey: it really hurts. Yeah. 236 00:24:04.900 --> 00:24:10.099 Polly Hearsey: Then there's a group of people who've been through that, and they've got an established business, but 237 00:24:10.750 --> 00:24:12.990 Polly Hearsey: that has burnt them out completely. 238 00:24:12.990 --> 00:24:13.410 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 239 00:24:13.410 --> 00:24:17.300 Polly Hearsey: And they're at the point of hitting hitting the big red button to explode everything. 240 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:23.480 Polly Hearsey: So yeah, so if you're a new entrepreneur, it's about finding 241 00:24:23.910 --> 00:24:28.899 Polly Hearsey: people who inspire you, and that doesn't have to just be in the business world, you know, if 242 00:24:28.900 --> 00:24:29.490 Polly Hearsey: you know how to. 243 00:24:29.490 --> 00:24:39.129 Polly Hearsey: How do I start my business. How is someone approaching that I've got? A dear friend who has such a gentle approach to her? Instagram? 244 00:24:39.470 --> 00:24:45.450 Polly Hearsey: It's just. It's just so gentle that you wouldn't necessarily know that it was selling. 245 00:24:45.830 --> 00:24:50.090 Polly Hearsey: you know, because she just does it in her own way. 246 00:24:50.770 --> 00:24:52.540 Polly Hearsey: And so I think that's that's 247 00:24:53.740 --> 00:24:56.170 Polly Hearsey: that's the thing is that finding yourself 248 00:24:56.370 --> 00:25:01.550 Polly Hearsey: people who really sort of like just make you. That's a beautiful way to share something. 249 00:25:01.980 --> 00:25:19.189 Polly Hearsey: There's a photographer. I'm so glad that her stuff comes. I like it every day, so that makes sure that I see it on my feed every day. She's just on an Anti AI cruise and photography crusade. Sorry. And so she shares a photo that she's taken every single day, and it's just like. 250 00:25:19.760 --> 00:25:26.370 Polly Hearsey: Oh, my God! She never mentions that you can go and buy this photos from her or anything. It's just. It's so gentle and it's so inspiring 251 00:25:27.540 --> 00:25:28.630 Polly Hearsey: that 252 00:25:29.030 --> 00:25:36.700 Polly Hearsey: it's about the energy that you feel. You think I wanna I want to hold that energy when I'm out there in my business. How would I do that. 253 00:25:36.930 --> 00:25:38.240 Sarah Santacroce: Just. 254 00:25:38.540 --> 00:25:40.170 Polly Hearsey: Throw out the rule book. 255 00:25:40.330 --> 00:25:52.920 Polly Hearsey: throw out all of the reference points of all the people who are telling you exactly how to do it, because that is a very toxic narrative to have in your head really, really toxic. It will keep you stuck. 256 00:25:53.250 --> 00:25:53.960 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm! 257 00:25:55.030 --> 00:26:07.340 Sarah Santacroce: I want to switch to the future now, and maybe hear from you 1st how you envision your work and life in 5 years can't go. 258 00:26:07.340 --> 00:26:07.670 Polly Hearsey: Okay. 259 00:26:07.670 --> 00:26:11.580 Sarah Santacroce: That right now is like, Oh, 5 years already feels really far. 260 00:26:11.580 --> 00:26:14.220 Sarah Santacroce: No, I'm not entirely sure I could get to 5. 261 00:26:15.130 --> 00:26:16.457 Polly Hearsey: To be honest. 262 00:26:17.370 --> 00:26:27.039 Polly Hearsey: okay, I mean, where I see business going is this complete transition? Because we're in a space where we simply cannot continue 263 00:26:27.460 --> 00:26:40.000 Polly Hearsey: down the path that we're on. It is not sustainable from a human point of view, it is not sustainable from an environmental point of view, and it's not even sustainable from the economic point of view. But that is not necessarily being understood. 264 00:26:40.350 --> 00:26:41.450 Polly Hearsey: So 265 00:26:41.800 --> 00:26:55.900 Polly Hearsey: I don't know if you've seen it. But the Uk government has just actually started talking about, how are they going to brighten clouds to reflect more sun? And how are they going to geoengineer the weather that they've actually provided grants for this research. You just go. 266 00:26:57.180 --> 00:27:07.749 Polly Hearsey: This is classic economic model. You just knew it was going to come. People are going to be trying to find. How can they make money out of solving the crisis? 267 00:27:07.750 --> 00:27:08.660 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 268 00:27:08.660 --> 00:27:10.010 Polly Hearsey: Here's the problem 269 00:27:10.740 --> 00:27:31.439 Polly Hearsey: that they're not looking at, or the solution that they're not looking at, and that is that the problems are solved by doing it in a completely different way. We cannot continue to use the economic model that we've got. So in terms of climate change, if we just actually poured all of our resources into restoring the soil, we would make a massive difference in a couple of years. 270 00:27:31.610 --> 00:27:33.210 Polly Hearsey: Huge difference. 271 00:27:33.590 --> 00:27:39.950 Polly Hearsey: And it's not about planting forests and forests and forests. It's about looking at the soil, because that's where most of the carbon goes. 272 00:27:40.550 --> 00:27:48.899 Polly Hearsey: So we have to. So to me the future of business is about returning it, returning the power to the people. 273 00:27:50.100 --> 00:27:57.809 Polly Hearsey: and that starts with believing in yourself and believing in the fact that you have a valid and valuable role in the world 274 00:27:58.100 --> 00:28:03.979 Polly Hearsey: which has been so severely eroded by the societies that we've set up. 275 00:28:05.120 --> 00:28:11.510 Polly Hearsey: So where do I think business is going? I think business is going into a much more diverse 276 00:28:12.750 --> 00:28:21.839 Polly Hearsey: creative process. When I say creative, I don't just mean everyone's going to go into the creative arts. I mean that it's about, who am I as a person? And what do I want to offer the world? 277 00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:28.549 Polly Hearsey: So it's going to become more diverse. It's going to become more creative? And ultimately 278 00:28:30.150 --> 00:28:37.099 Polly Hearsey: is this 5? Is it 10? Is it 20 years down the line? They business is actually going to be part, become part of the ecosystem. 279 00:28:37.610 --> 00:28:41.469 Polly Hearsey: Instead of being in an extractive mode, the economic 280 00:28:41.950 --> 00:28:47.990 Polly Hearsey: norms will have been reshaped. So that actually, we're in a collaborative mode. 281 00:28:49.740 --> 00:29:00.070 Polly Hearsey: That's complex, because there's a whole web of energies that are, you know, they've got existing pathways that is very hard to change, but that, to me is 282 00:29:01.290 --> 00:29:05.470 Polly Hearsey: the higher sort of philosophical philosophical philosopher. 283 00:29:05.650 --> 00:29:10.680 Polly Hearsey: Philosophical direction of travel. 284 00:29:10.940 --> 00:29:11.800 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 285 00:29:11.800 --> 00:29:18.640 Polly Hearsey: Because it's about restoring agency. It's about restoring individual power and restructuring society. 286 00:29:19.650 --> 00:29:21.460 Polly Hearsey: So that's not a 5 year thing. 287 00:29:21.750 --> 00:29:28.589 Polly Hearsey: but in 5 years time I think the expectations of businesses will be completely different. 288 00:29:29.030 --> 00:29:29.850 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 289 00:29:30.750 --> 00:29:31.520 Polly Hearsey: How about you? 290 00:29:31.520 --> 00:29:32.616 Sarah Santacroce: I like that vision. 291 00:29:33.521 --> 00:29:38.240 Sarah Santacroce: I just recently finished reading a book called Stellar, where 292 00:29:38.570 --> 00:29:41.419 Sarah Santacroce: the vision is that we have 293 00:29:41.600 --> 00:29:44.910 Sarah Santacroce: free energy that comes from the sun and the wind. 294 00:29:46.010 --> 00:29:54.810 Sarah Santacroce: and that then changes everything, because once we have free energy that is not extractive, but is regenerative. 295 00:29:55.700 --> 00:29:59.619 Sarah Santacroce: Well, the humans, in a way, it's kind of like you can just relax 296 00:29:59.910 --> 00:30:08.420 Sarah Santacroce: because there is not that need anymore to constantly produce. And, you know, create 297 00:30:08.990 --> 00:30:23.699 Sarah Santacroce: money to pay energy which then creates more crap. And you know, it's like this whole cycle. And so, yeah, I think I think it starts with with, like, you say, a complete systems change. 298 00:30:24.510 --> 00:30:36.330 Sarah Santacroce: I know already what we're already seeing is people don't want to work in in big businesses anymore, where it's just about, you know, climbing the ladder, and 299 00:30:36.430 --> 00:30:53.540 Sarah Santacroce: of course yes, there will. It'll be, I think, for a while there will be 2 worlds, 2 narratives. But eventually yeah, that that will change. And I think, actually like you, I think the power comes from the people. 300 00:30:53.650 --> 00:31:08.590 Sarah Santacroce: And so it's going to be these new leaders with innovative ideas. And yes, technology will help. But it will be with good intentions that we're using these technologies that are available. 301 00:31:08.850 --> 00:31:16.169 Sarah Santacroce: And I think the one the countries, if you think, from a country orientation? I think it's the small countries. 302 00:31:16.320 --> 00:31:21.460 Sarah Santacroce: probably from the global South that will be able to implement this the fastest. 303 00:31:21.750 --> 00:31:22.080 Polly Hearsey: Yeah. 304 00:31:22.080 --> 00:31:26.600 Sarah Santacroce: Because there's not that level of bureaucracy that we have in other countries. 305 00:31:26.600 --> 00:31:43.800 Polly Hearsey: Yeah. And I think that is a really interesting point, because we have these big institutions, you know, the bigger, the more established the economies of a particular country, the more we have these institutions, and so the power is controlled through the institutions. 306 00:31:43.800 --> 00:31:44.150 Sarah Santacroce: Exactly. 307 00:31:44.150 --> 00:31:56.420 Polly Hearsey: What's going to happen when we have more and more people coming into entrepreneurship, more and more people sort of choosing different pathways for their business for their careers, which not necessarily about owning a business 308 00:31:56.700 --> 00:32:01.120 Polly Hearsey: is, you diversify the the ground. 309 00:32:01.340 --> 00:32:08.020 Polly Hearsey: You change people's behavior in terms of how they engage with the businesses that they need in order to live. 310 00:32:08.380 --> 00:32:13.260 Polly Hearsey: and then, all of a sudden, there is nothing underneath those institutions. 311 00:32:13.890 --> 00:32:16.730 Polly Hearsey: and which means that governments don't have the power 312 00:32:17.420 --> 00:32:22.169 Polly Hearsey: to direct things anymore. So it's a very sudden collapse. 313 00:32:22.770 --> 00:32:28.960 Polly Hearsey: But it takes a long time coming, and it takes a lot of belief. So you know, going back to Martha Beck's pyramid in the pool 314 00:32:29.310 --> 00:32:33.019 Polly Hearsey: idea of, you know the changes created from the ground up. 315 00:32:33.660 --> 00:32:38.980 Polly Hearsey: We have to get across the base and work our way up slowly. 316 00:32:39.230 --> 00:33:01.219 Polly Hearsey: So for you and me because we we have to navigate. So you know, probably the conversations we were having with people, and what people were ready to hear 10 years ago, 5 years ago. That's changed. People are ready to hear something different now. So we have to keep advancing the conversation because it moves the the change up a little bit, because already, you know. 317 00:33:01.330 --> 00:33:06.859 Polly Hearsey: I see this all the time. It's like the the ground level where I might have started being, you know 318 00:33:07.340 --> 00:33:09.100 Polly Hearsey: 8 years ago, or whatever. 319 00:33:10.480 --> 00:33:15.739 Polly Hearsey: There's plenty of people there now saying exactly what I was saying back then, so I need to advance the conversation. 320 00:33:15.740 --> 00:33:22.630 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, yeah, that's that's really good. And it reminds me also, when I shortened the the program. 321 00:33:22.770 --> 00:33:34.549 Sarah Santacroce: i 1 of the points I explained in my newsletter, I said. I can with all integrity do that because I feel like I'm picking people up at an advanced, more advanced level. 322 00:33:34.550 --> 00:33:35.150 Polly Hearsey: Yeah. 323 00:33:35.150 --> 00:33:46.970 Sarah Santacroce: Like when I started in 2019, I had to 1st explain, well, what is this? Why are we doing this? And now people are like, sign me up. Yeah, I want to do humane marketing. 324 00:33:46.970 --> 00:33:47.959 Polly Hearsey: The assumptions have already. 325 00:33:48.470 --> 00:33:49.080 Polly Hearsey: Is it. 326 00:33:49.080 --> 00:33:50.020 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, exactly. 327 00:33:50.020 --> 00:34:00.930 Polly Hearsey: People have done the work which they hadn't done. So this is one of the reasons that this year I've been focusing a lot on what I call states of being and understanding those states of being of your audience. 328 00:34:00.930 --> 00:34:01.470 Sarah Santacroce: Because. 329 00:34:01.470 --> 00:34:12.089 Polly Hearsey: There are some who are still need to have it explained, and there are some who are in the process of getting ready, and there are a whole lot lot more people who are ready to do the work 330 00:34:12.090 --> 00:34:12.480 Polly Hearsey: if you talk 331 00:34:12.480 --> 00:34:18.019 Polly Hearsey: the right language to them. So you have to understand where they're at. You also have to understand what the role of your business is. 332 00:34:18.199 --> 00:34:28.780 Polly Hearsey: So because there are educator businesses who have a really important role to play in coming back to. I was saying to you before we started recording, but ecosystems of change. 333 00:34:28.969 --> 00:34:36.889 Polly Hearsey: you have to have people who are educators because it's like. It's asking people to open up and to do that assumption busting. 334 00:34:37.219 --> 00:34:41.320 Polly Hearsey: But you have to have the people who inspire different ways, and you and I fall into that category. 335 00:34:41.480 --> 00:34:43.419 Polly Hearsey: But we also have to have the people who 336 00:34:43.670 --> 00:34:47.609 Polly Hearsey: draw people together, and the people who focus on the actual mechanics of. 337 00:34:47.610 --> 00:34:48.010 Sarah Santacroce: Create. 338 00:34:48.010 --> 00:35:04.489 Polly Hearsey: The new. So we need all of these things, and everybody's business has a different role to play in that cycle. So we need to understand that. But you and I, we fall into that inspiration category. We we do show people how to do it. 339 00:35:04.920 --> 00:35:11.349 Polly Hearsey: But really, our focus is on saying, you want to go. Are you ready to go? Let's go because 340 00:35:11.750 --> 00:35:14.719 Polly Hearsey: you have the answers, and I can show you how to access them. 341 00:35:14.720 --> 00:35:15.180 Sarah Santacroce: That's kind. 342 00:35:15.180 --> 00:35:20.290 Polly Hearsey: What we do. So it's it's the conversation has changed. 343 00:35:20.290 --> 00:35:21.609 Polly Hearsey: Hmm, yeah. 344 00:35:21.610 --> 00:35:24.859 Polly Hearsey: I spent years thinking I am screaming into the void. 345 00:35:25.260 --> 00:35:37.459 Sarah Santacroce: Yes, yeah, in 2,018 that that was my or you know already before. But it's like when I put the 1st book out. It's like crickets, you know. Nobody was. 346 00:35:37.460 --> 00:35:39.870 Polly Hearsey: The collective consciousness was not ready to receive. 347 00:35:40.440 --> 00:35:41.010 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 348 00:35:41.010 --> 00:35:47.379 Polly Hearsey: But the simple act. Here's the thing that I think people must remember the fact that you put that out there 349 00:35:47.840 --> 00:35:49.170 Polly Hearsey: changed 350 00:35:49.680 --> 00:36:06.240 Polly Hearsey: the playing field. It doesn't matter that there were crickets. You change the playing field, so you made it more possible for that conversation to happen, and the words that you put out there. Then I bet they're being reflected back to you now the things that you see other people saying you're going. Oh, hang on a second. I said that. 351 00:36:06.410 --> 00:36:07.929 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. And that's good, you know. 352 00:36:08.181 --> 00:36:09.690 Polly Hearsey: That's what we do it for. 353 00:36:09.690 --> 00:36:11.700 Sarah Santacroce: That's that's what we're here for. Yeah. 354 00:36:11.780 --> 00:36:18.980 Polly Hearsey: So. So we have to remember that even if we get crickets, there's a long term thing. And I say this a lot. 355 00:36:19.240 --> 00:36:25.650 Polly Hearsey: We have been trained to think that there is a direct correlation between the actions that we take and the responses that we get. So 356 00:36:26.060 --> 00:36:28.730 Polly Hearsey: you know, I I put this out, and I've got a bit of hair. 357 00:36:28.840 --> 00:36:33.440 Polly Hearsey: and I put this post out. I get a sale. 358 00:36:33.440 --> 00:36:35.140 Sarah Santacroce: I get sales. Yeah. 359 00:36:35.140 --> 00:36:37.835 Polly Hearsey: Doesn't work like that. And I was 360 00:36:38.500 --> 00:36:51.149 Polly Hearsey: an exercise, I say to people to put put something that you you genuinely believe about, and you believe in and put it out there, and you might get crickets. But then just open your awareness. 360, 361 00:36:51.500 --> 00:37:00.129 Polly Hearsey: and see where the response comes from. Because there you are. You're assuming there's a direct correlation between what I'm saying and the person that I'm talking to. 362 00:37:00.750 --> 00:37:08.009 Polly Hearsey: But actually, what you're doing is putting an energy out into the world. And then, if you're aware of it, some behind you, you're going to get a response. 363 00:37:08.630 --> 00:37:09.000 Sarah Santacroce: So, yeah. 364 00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:14.680 Polly Hearsey: So stop thinking. That's the other thing that we stop thinking about this direct causation. 365 00:37:15.469 --> 00:37:22.280 Polly Hearsey: It isn't a direct causation, it is. It is about the energy we put out, and then the energy that we receive. 366 00:37:23.010 --> 00:37:31.509 Sarah Santacroce: And so the problem with that is that we're being taught well, if you put something out there and nobody responds, then. 367 00:37:31.510 --> 00:37:32.000 Polly Hearsey: Failed. 368 00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:48.830 Sarah Santacroce: It's failed, and, you know, move on to the next thing. And meanwhile there's all this, you know, movement going on underneath the surface that you're not seeing. And so you know, people ask next year, what about your program? You're not doing that anymore. So. 369 00:37:48.830 --> 00:37:55.252 Polly Hearsey: So, and there there's if you agrees. The the 370 00:37:56.350 --> 00:37:58.200 Polly Hearsey: An analogy I use 371 00:37:58.520 --> 00:38:04.899 Polly Hearsey: is that if you if you look particularly spring now, if you look at this, there's a riot of growth going on. 372 00:38:05.260 --> 00:38:11.909 Polly Hearsey: Where does that growth start? It starts in the soil. Can you see it? No. 373 00:38:11.910 --> 00:38:12.630 Sarah Santacroce: No. 374 00:38:12.840 --> 00:38:14.010 Polly Hearsey: It's happening. 375 00:38:14.420 --> 00:38:22.450 Polly Hearsey: So we have. So there's a lot of trust. So and you and I have been through that. We've been through this sort of thing, feeling like we're talking 376 00:38:22.650 --> 00:38:29.639 Polly Hearsey: to nothing, you know, we're not getting a response. But actually, we've just been fertilizing the ground. 377 00:38:30.290 --> 00:38:30.940 Sarah Santacroce: No. 378 00:38:31.195 --> 00:38:33.490 Polly Hearsey: But we have to keep on doing that because. 379 00:38:33.490 --> 00:38:34.420 Sarah Santacroce: Keep on doing that. 380 00:38:34.420 --> 00:38:43.040 Polly Hearsey: Our part, you know, there's a lot of people who will then come in and work that. But we for us, it's about setting the expectations. 381 00:38:43.040 --> 00:38:43.560 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 382 00:38:43.560 --> 00:38:49.709 Polly Hearsey: What does it actually mean? Because about probably about 4 years ago, I noticed this big shift 383 00:38:50.420 --> 00:39:04.969 Polly Hearsey: in the way that some of the really big businesses, you know, the multi 7 figure businesses were talking and the language that they were using. And then I looked at what they were doing, and they were doing exactly the same thing, but they shifted their language. 384 00:39:04.970 --> 00:39:05.390 Sarah Santacroce: And. 385 00:39:05.390 --> 00:39:19.930 Polly Hearsey: It's more than that. It's not about just shifting your language. It's about shifting your expectations. It's about upholding your values. It's about listening to yourself in a different way, and giving yourself a different set of permissions to do things. 386 00:39:20.570 --> 00:39:21.740 Polly Hearsey: So he's. 387 00:39:21.740 --> 00:39:29.169 Sarah Santacroce: And that's what you said at the beginning. It's like people can smell that a mile away, right when it's just lipstick on a pig. 388 00:39:29.450 --> 00:39:39.520 Polly Hearsey: And yeah, and your business. It's what happens behind the scenes in your business and beyond the public gaze. That is as important as what you put out there publicly. 389 00:39:40.175 --> 00:39:40.830 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 390 00:39:40.830 --> 00:39:45.649 Polly Hearsey: There can be an absolute, you know, businesses that are car crash behind the scenes 391 00:39:46.620 --> 00:39:58.600 Polly Hearsey: that it helps no one. So you do the work on yourself, on how you hold your business, and how you conduct your business. You do that in order to build something that is resilient. 392 00:39:58.730 --> 00:40:05.230 Polly Hearsey: and that would be my. The one thing I would say to people is that if you want to have a business in the future. 393 00:40:05.530 --> 00:40:08.610 Polly Hearsey: you better then well, focus on your resilience. 394 00:40:08.610 --> 00:40:09.080 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm, okay. 395 00:40:09.080 --> 00:40:17.290 Polly Hearsey: I don't mean your economic resilience, I mean your energetic, your values-based resilience. Now. 396 00:40:17.290 --> 00:40:18.060 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 397 00:40:18.060 --> 00:40:18.540 Polly Hearsey: Cause it. 398 00:40:18.540 --> 00:40:22.309 Sarah Santacroce: I was just gonna ask you, kind of as a closing question, like. 399 00:40:22.420 --> 00:40:29.779 Sarah Santacroce: what kind of questions do you think leaders, entrepreneurs should ask themselves. 400 00:40:29.950 --> 00:40:34.648 Sarah Santacroce: either themselves or or about their business, just like what are the. 401 00:40:35.040 --> 00:40:41.589 Polly Hearsey: The number. One thing that I come, I tell people to do, and I and you cannot do it too many times. 402 00:40:42.100 --> 00:40:49.839 Polly Hearsey: You can do it every month if you want to, every week, if you want to, is, ask yourself what are my values, and how am I upholding them? 403 00:40:49.840 --> 00:40:50.510 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 404 00:40:50.510 --> 00:40:59.699 Polly Hearsey: And that means looking at the fine print of your terms and conditions as much as it means. How am I showing up. 405 00:41:01.320 --> 00:41:07.169 Polly Hearsey: Where is the integrity in that? Where is the integrity with my values? 406 00:41:07.740 --> 00:41:09.790 Polly Hearsey: Because your values come from within. 407 00:41:10.820 --> 00:41:16.449 Polly Hearsey: and the more that you are focused on your values, the more you are challenging and busting assumptions. 408 00:41:16.770 --> 00:41:23.830 Polly Hearsey: and the more you are opening up the landscape for your business to thrive in the future. 409 00:41:24.250 --> 00:41:25.060 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm! 410 00:41:25.420 --> 00:41:26.470 Sarah Santacroce: Beautiful. 411 00:41:26.950 --> 00:41:30.390 Sarah Santacroce: Well, I think we have a lot of hope for. 412 00:41:30.390 --> 00:41:30.860 Polly Hearsey: And do we do. 413 00:41:31.180 --> 00:41:38.011 Sarah Santacroce: Business of the future. I do. You do so. We'll just keep showing up. 414 00:41:38.500 --> 00:41:41.360 Polly Hearsey: I say, business has caused a lot of the problems. 415 00:41:41.510 --> 00:41:43.550 Polly Hearsey: It can also be the solution. 416 00:41:43.550 --> 00:41:46.469 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, yeah, I really believe that it's. 417 00:41:46.470 --> 00:41:46.950 Polly Hearsey: Yeah. 418 00:41:46.950 --> 00:41:52.739 Sarah Santacroce: It's not the institutions, it's not the governments. It's the humans behind the businesses. Right? 419 00:41:52.740 --> 00:41:54.450 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. Yep, yeah. 420 00:41:54.450 --> 00:41:56.510 Polly Hearsey: And that's going to be the thing that changes everything. 421 00:41:56.510 --> 00:41:57.450 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 422 00:41:58.239 --> 00:42:07.350 Sarah Santacroce: thank you, Polly, as always wonderful. Please do share where people can find out more about you, and sign up to your newsletter, etcetera. 423 00:42:07.350 --> 00:42:14.259 Polly Hearsey: Yeah, you can head over to my website, which is just polyhecy.co.uk, and and follow the breadcrumbs from there. 424 00:42:15.560 --> 00:42:19.259 Sarah Santacroce: Wonderful. Yeah. And let's let's do it again, sometime. 425 00:42:19.260 --> 00:42:20.250 Polly Hearsey: I'd love to. 426 00:42:20.756 --> 00:42:21.770 Sarah Santacroce: Thank you. 427 00:42:21.770 --> 00:42:22.370 Polly Hearsey: Thank you. 428 00:42:22.580 --> 00:42:23.240 Sarah Santacroce: Bye.

5/9/25 • 53:22

In this episode of Humane Marketing podcast, I'm joined by Rachel Allen for a deep dive into The Science of Buying. We explore how neuroscience and psychology quietly shape our buying decisions—and how understanding this can lead to more humane, effective sales. From Rachel's "magic equation" for building trust, to knowing when your message says just enough, this conversation is packed with insights for entrepreneurs who want to sell with empathy, not manipulation. Whether you're writing sales copy, nurturing relationships, or rethinking your entire approach, this episode will inspire a more connected and compassionate way to grow your business. Here's what we covered in this episode: Some surprising ways neuroscience and psychology influence our buying decisions—often before we're even aware of it. Rachel's 'magic equation' for sales—and how it helps build trust and connection. The subtle power of great sales copy and messaging to spark interest before someone consciously realizes they want to buy. How to know when you've said enough—or maybe too much—in a sales message. Why, in a world driven by data and demographics, empathy and psychology are actually the stronger tools for real connection. The full ecosystem of a humane sales process—and how things like sales pages, nurture emails, and gentle follow-ups all weave together. Watch this episode on YouTube Join us for the upcoming Collab Workshop on May 7th where we open our community, the Humane Marketing Circle to the public, for a small donation. -- Speaker 0: hi, rachel. it's good to have you back, returning guest to the humane marketing podcast. welcome. Speaker 1: thank you. thank you. i'm so excited to be back. i always love, uh, repeat podcasts in general, but especially talking with you. Speaker 0: yeah. thank you. it's it's really good when you get to know one another. right. like, kind of kind of on a deeper level. i think the conversations are are different. yeah. Speaker 1: yeah. everybody gets to, like, drop their marketing face and just have a a human to human conversation. Speaker 0: exactly. yeah. so we decided to do another collab workshop. uh, you've been in the community before and you're i'm excited to have you back. and this time, we're gonna talk about the science of buying. right? so from the buyer's perspective, uh, more so from the seller's perspective, but understanding what's going on in the buyer's head so that we can then, you know, cater to that and then not in a manipulative way, of course, but just like in an empathy kind of way. it's like, oh, okay. i know what's going on in their heads so that i can write the sales page, the emails. so that's kind of like what we're gonna be talking about. so you have looked at this, uh, more deeply and also kind of like the neuroscience and psychology, uh, behind this idea of, well, what's going on in the buyer's head. um, obviously, there's all these tactics out there that are based on neuroscience. i'm pretty sure that's not what you're gonna tell us to do, but, um, yeah, i i'd love to hear your thoughts on all of that. Speaker 1: yeah. well, i you know, you're correct. i don't have seven steps to, you know, manipulate people using their brains because i think that's based on such a false understanding of how humans actually work. and this may sound like a slight digression, but just to give you the understanding of where i'm coming from psychologically with this, a lot of those tactics are based on a school of psychology and understanding of the human, uh, mind called behaviorism. so if you ever thought about, like, bf skinner and pavlov, that's behaviorism. right? it's like, oh, we push the button and that makes the thing happen and then we get the outcome. that works on a small scale with humans in limited conditional circumstances. but what the opposing school of that, which is called humanism, has found is that humans are driven by their will. we each have our free will. we decide things, and that's how we recreate things, and we bring, um, a lot of chaos actually to the sales process because we're human. and you can never just set up the internet atm where it's like, well, i put in input a and i get out output b because there's a human involved and you never know what's gonna happen. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. i like that. is it actually called humanism? that's that's a term for it. uh, that makes so much sense. yes. so so yeah. what are some of these strategies or or things that you have learned and that you feel like, you know, that feels good rather than, yeah, we're just abusing, uh, neuroscience and using it in in our favor? Speaker 1: right. yeah. it's i've never been a fan of, uh, lab rat tactics. you know? well, it's, oh, let's, like, poke them and see what happens. that just doesn't feel good to me, and it's also not really effective. so, um, the main things that i remind people when i'm teaching this are that you don't have to be a mind reader to understand what someone's going through in a sales process because you're a person too. we all kind of go through the same phases, which is i have a problem. maybe i realize that. maybe i don't realize it. maybe i don't even know what the problem is, but i'm like, uh, like, just i'm in discomfort or, like, something's not working. i need to get somewhere else than where i am now. then we tend to go through a period of exploration. right? what do i actually want? do i know? i don't know. maybe i could find out. i'll try this thing. i'll try that thing. and then finally, we find something where we're like, okay. i'm pretty sure that's gonna be the thing or it's at least worth a try. should i do it? and then we go through this period of having to convince ourselves. mhmm. and that's where the opportunity is with sales pages and, um, lesser nurture campaigns. those come a little bit before. but people usually focus on that, like, oh, do i buy it or do i not area when they come to sales pages and the whole conversation is a huge part of it. Speaker 0: i like that. the conversation is a huge part of it. so, essentially, what you're saying is, like, the sales page should feel like a conversation addressing these thoughts that go through the buyer's head. right? uh, that's that's that's good. um, so so you talk about this magic equation, uh, for sales. uh, maybe, uh, i know we're gonna go more deeply into it in the workshop, but maybe you could just kind of give us a sneak preview of of what that is. what's the magic equation for sales? Speaker 1: oh, i was so excited when i finally was able to articulate this. so for a sale to happen, you have to get the right thing in front of the right person at the right time and in the right way. and if any one of those factors is off, the sale doesn't happen. Speaker 0: and i saw your linkedin post on that, and i was like, yes. that's it. exactly. yeah. go ahead. Speaker 1: why, um, well, that's why people get so i think they take so much, uh, responsibility on themselves with sales, and they try to control these factors that they really can't control because, like, you can't control when someone's going to encounter your thing. you can't control the way in which they encounter it. you can make the best thing you can, and you can understand whoever your ideal person is. like, you've got the most control over those two factors, but you have no control over the other two. and so people get so, like, wrapped up in this idea of, oh, i'm bad at marketing or, oh, i'm bad at sales because i can't control the flow of time. and when you say it like that, it's like, well, of course, that's a bit silly. but so much marketing advice is predicated on, like, well, no, you should just, like, control these things. how, how are you supposed to do that? Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. it's so good. and it reminds me of, um, something i talk about in the selling, like we're human book. i, uh, i think i make the point of, uh, the, the, the idea that more sales calls does not equal more sales necessarily. because if your, like, intake form, for example, is not clear or your marketing is not good, then you can talk to tons of people. but if they're not at the right point in time, like the point you're making, well, then you're basically just i guess you're telling yourself i'm busy. i'm selling. you know? but then you're gonna be disappointed because you're not making the sales because people are just not at that readiness point to to actually buy. um, i feel there's a lot of pressure to, you know, do all these sales calls and then and then obviously they become pushy because you feel like, oh my god, i'm so exhausted after 10 sales calls and nobody buys. and then you try to, you know, get more and more pushy. uh, but but yeah. it's the opposite of of humane selling for sure. Speaker 1: yeah. that equation. right? that's not humane to you as the person who's doing selling either. and, like, i really love this metaphor of the conversation because if there's a conversation where one person is just monologuing at you, like, what do you naturally physically do? you know, when that guy in the bar comes up to you, you're like, um. but and that's what happens with marketing. but if you can turn this around and it becomes a conversation, you can create situations in which you don't have to to encounter people at, like, their right moment because they already know you. and so when the moment's right, they come and find you. they lean in towards you, and you don't have to try and stress out about being everywhere all the time because, you know, they know how to get to you. Speaker 0: mhmm. yeah. yeah. it it reminds me of another post i just saw, uh, on linkedin about, you know, the right now, things are kinda tough with the economy the way it is and talk about recession. and so people get, you know, they they have the scarcity mindset and everybody feels like, well, i should be selling more. but right now, it's probably not the time to sell more, but it is the time to build the trust for future sales and keep being visible. and so, yeah, these conversations to build those in and to into let's talk a little bit about email marketing as well, because that's also part of of the nurturing. right? so so how can we bring more of these conversations into, yes, the sales copy, but also the emails, for example? Speaker 1: yeah. well, i love i love how you've laid these phases out. right? because we'll see people, and you and i have both been around business and not long enough to see how that this will happen, is that the people who are showing up right now are the ones that when things do turn, they're going to be absolutely inundated with business. and then everybody else is like, oh, wait. i gotta get my emails going. so this is a really good time to get nurture campaigns and other conversations like that going. Speaker 0: right. Speaker 1: and to answer your question about, you know, how we incorporate that, i think people have this idea of what a nurture campaign is that's based um, in the mid aughts. like, it's very 02/2008 to very 02/2009. it's like, it's seven emails. and the first one is like, oh my god. you're here. and the second one is like, did you download the thing yet? and then you work up to a sale. right? it's so boring. i hate it so much. i'm seeing a thousand of them. they all are, like, ai generated now. so i invite people to reframe what a nurture campaign is is just it's creating instances for someone to know you over and over again. it's kind of like making it to where you run into each other at the coffee shop every morning, and then you're like, oh, yeah. i know her. so it can be whatever you want it to be. so for instance, in my other business that i do with solve a pet triple diamond, we actually have a repulsion campaign, an anti nurture campaign where we write five emails to our unideal clients. and it's funny, and there's the haiku, and we're like, absolutely not. we even have a song in it. and that's showing who we are instead of being like, we're triple diamond and here are our values. it's like, hey, we wrote a funny haiku about how much we hate elon. you wanna join? that shows you who we are. Speaker 0: yeah. i talk about the worldview all the time. like, show your worldview, show what your stand what you stand for. and that's a great example. people wanna stay away for from politics. but frankly, right now, like, please, you know, it's no longer the time for business as usual. so, uh, yeah, address politics because clearly, you're you're, yeah, you're you're gonna resonate with the people who who stand for the same things. right? so yeah. we just actually had the the last workshop was about email marketing and and, yeah, she she she basically said the same thing, like or or we had this discussion also, like, what's with the term nurturing anyway? like, people actually said, well, i don't feel nurtured or this is not what nurturing is. right? so, yeah, just kind of understanding that people don't sign up to an email list to feel like to get nurtured. you know, we should we usually sure, like, see for nurturing someone somewhere else. but, um, it's just good to yeah. think about, well, how do people feel when they sign up to something? and how would you feel, uh, when you sign up to to an email list as well and and just apply the same thing? Speaker 1: and how, like, how do you want them to feel? like, we with our particular campaign, we want them to feel amused and seen and, like, somebody is, like, taking a stand. with other future campaigns, you might want someone to feel, uh, educated. that's another really popular one. you need to, like, bring them through a journey of learning something. so it doesn't have to be this, like, extremely transparent build up to a sale of, like, okay. i'm gonna give you three little, like, gifts, and then you're gonna wanna work with me. like, no. it's thinking about, like, what kind of relationship do you want? what kind of party are we throwing here? how do you want them to feel? Speaker 0: yeah. and all of that is is part of the trust building. right? Speaker 1: yeah. that's Speaker 0: that's what we're doing. another thing you talk about is is data and demographics and why psychology, uh, or, um, what are they called? psychographics are much more important than just, you know, the, yeah, the demographics of your ideal client. so talk to us a little bit about that. Speaker 1: oh, this is one of my favorite soapboxes. so when people started teaching the concept of a client avatar, they took that from traditional mass marketing and then took, like, two little tiny facets of it and taught those and ignored the rest of it. so people think that what you need to learn about them is like, okay. well, your audience is women and they're between the ages of 35 and 50. uh, they are married and college educated and they like cats. that's not an avatar. that's an imaginary friend, and that doesn't tell you anything about the person. so those are their demographics. their psychographics are how they feel about things and why they feel that way. because you can take people who have extremely similar demographic profiles who have completely different psychographics. and if you try to market to them in the same way, they're probably both going to be turned off because you're just not going to really speak to what either one of them cares about. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. it's it's such a huge difference. and then in my marketing, like, we're human program, people are always surprised when i come back with, you know, the the p p of people where we go into the ideal client. a lot of them say, oh, i've already worked on that. and i'm like, yeah, but you haven't worked on it like this. yeah. yeah. we have this. and that's why people are also kind of scared of defining their niche because they feel like, oh, i have to just kind of like have a niche. and, and, you know, usually it's demographic based. it's like, i have to only work with women between this and this age. no, you don't. the minute you bring in your worldview or the psychology of your ideal client, then it opens up. it's like it's based on resonance. because if you put out your worldview into your marketing, then it will only resonate with the, with this ideal client. doesn't matter what gender they are, what age, what race doesn't none of that matters. right? Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. Speaker 0: it's it's it's such an important difference. and i i really hope, like, the new kind of marketing people are that's what they're teaching. i don't know. you're more involved still and and and and you're saying that there there's still people out there teaching demographics? Speaker 1: yeah. it's find your niche. it's you want to be the something for this tiny little subset of people. but that's created this situation in which people are getting into, like, crazy tiny niches because they wanna be different, and that just doesn't do anything for you. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. yeah. what about, um, you know, kind of like if we if we go back to the signs of buying. so from the the buyer's perspective, what other things like, if we put ourselves into the head of the buyer, what are the things maybe also if we compare it to ten years ago, how do you think the buyers, um, consciousness and intellect and, you know, the decision making has changed compared to ten years ago maybe. Speaker 1: so i think that humans are humans, and they're always like, decision making in and of itself, the process is still gonna be the same. you know, we go through this period of, like, there's something wrong. i wanna fix it. what do i do? how do i convince myself i've made a good decision? how do i feel about this? all of that. but i think sales cycles in general are taking longer right now because people are extremely tired. there is so much coming at them all the time. there's no off ever for most people unless they are creating it for themselves. and there's, you know, a pervasive sense of just pessimism and fear and uncertainty. and so i think that means our job as sellers and marketers is to acknowledge that and be honest about it and not try to just be like, yeah. but if you buy my ninety day course, everything will be fine because that's just not true. but you can also create the sense of, like, you know what? i get this. you're scared. and also, we can move over here and we can we can fix this one thing. we can't fix the world, but i can fix this one problem you have. Speaker 0: yeah. i really like that. so so there's transparency, but there's still also hope and and and being very honest to say, hey, yes. i can promise you, you know, 10 new clients after going through this program. but what i do know that it will fix is this specific thing. yeah. i agree with that because i think i think, yeah, we can't just pretend, you know, it's not uncertain right now, and we don't know where where it's going. we have to treat our clients as smart conscious consumers or or buyers. and and so i think that's super, super important to come over with transparency, but at the same time, you know, knowledgeable and and also, yeah, confident in our offering. so it's kind of like this blend of, uh, or yeah. of of both things. Speaker 1: yeah. and i think i love how you phrase that, the knowledgeable and confident in the offering. and i think that's so important because what also happens during these times is people, unfortunately, will sometimes jump on a disaster as a marketing trend, and then they use it as this, like, things are so bad. oh my god. we gotta fix it right now. i know things are terrible. and that doesn't help anyone. all that does is add more chaos and fear into the atmosphere. and it's manipulative and gross, you know, to try and profit off of the general fear that is going around right now. it doesn't last. and that's you get a lot of churn that way, but you do not get long term sales. and, also, you just kinda look like a jerk. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. uh, and i like the last thing you just said is, like, it will give you you will sell fast, uh, for those who are like, oh, yeah. i'm really scared. okay. i'm gonna buy this thing, and it'll fix all my problems. but then, you know, two months later, they'll one, they won't do the work, um, because they don't have the confidence in themselves. and then two, either they'll if it's a long term, i don't know, a membership or something like that, well, they'll probably check out again or, uh, or you'll you won't get them the results. and then that's that's never good either to have a client who who doesn't get the results. right? so, yeah, it's, uh, it you know, selling is is always a bit of a tricky thing, but i think especially in in in in a downturn economy, it's even it's it's even more tricky. and i think also the the thing you said that people are tired. so what does that mean? like, i was just thinking if people are tired and we come with our, you know, long sales page, long emails, uh, you think we need to adjust our copy a little bit, make it shorter? like, is is that something you would do? Speaker 1: uh, it depends on the person and the offer. so the thing that i'm finding most effective in terms of tactics or, actually, let me rephrase that. the the key factor that i'm seeing in sales right now is what people's friends say. so if you can create a situation in which they're gonna go to the voxer chat or their whatsapp chat or whatever and be like, okay. rachel allen, how do we feel? and they're like, oh, yeah. she's solid. that's what you want, and that's how people are buying right now. so if you create that kind of situation, um, that's what you want. in terms of length of sales pages and, like, how you engage with people, it depends on your audience. um, some people are really into video right now, especially short form video because they're acclimated to tiktok, and that just works really well for their brain. other people are, like, going you'll see this, like, they're going to substack. right? and so they want these, like, long things. so i think it comes back to knowing your audience. but in general, the sort of equation that i give people for writing copy is the heavier the cognitive or financial lift, the longer the copy should be. Speaker 0: oh, that's interesting. yeah. so so i think in the workshop, you'll also talk about the faqs at the end. right? so, actually, yeah, the bigger the investment, the more i'm gonna want to know upfront. okay. what are what is all the fine print? what am i getting? like yeah. at least i always know that for my audience is, like, they they they like that there's a lot of info on that page. they might not read it all, but, uh, you know, it's there. and so, yeah, the faq is is definitely an important piece. and and, of course, if it's only, like, a very small amount, then, yeah, maybe shorter is is better. but, again, you need to know your audience and and and understand what's going on in their heads. Speaker 1: right. yeah. it's an exercise in empathy. it's thinking, like, what do i want? what would i want if i were signing up for this? and if you're working with faqs especially, the types of questions you choose can really show your audience that you care about them and you understand them. because if you're answering questions they don't have, like, who cares? it might make feel like, oh, this isn't for me. but if you can answer those questions that they have themselves or, like, they get to the bottom of the sales page and they're like, oh, i would do this, but if you can address that, you've got the sale. Speaker 0: right. yeah. yeah. it's kinda like the you know, what you were saying, the the email series to, uh, a non ideal client. it's almost like if you formulate the faqs in a way that addresses also, you know, this is not for you if right then it kind of reconfirms that. oh, yeah. no. uh, this is actually for me when they get to the bottom of the page. Speaker 1: yeah. absolutely. and if you can frame that in such a way where you're talking about the way they think about who they don't wanna be, you know, then they'll be like, oh, okay. well, like, i'm definitely not that kind of person, so this is for me. and they feel a sense of belonging, and they feel cared for and seen. Speaker 0: yeah. i wanna come back to the idea that you shared before that it matters what other people or or friends think of us. and and that and this is, yeah, really, really important. it taps into collaboration with other, uh, with other people, what you're doing with apache, what we're doing right here. right? it's kind of like this putting my hand in the fire and saying, yes. uh, you know, i trust rachel. she's aligned with our values. i wanna bring her into the community. i want you to buy her stuff. um, so this kind of partnership, uh, is really, really key. and it it i still don't see it often enough. like, uh, p of partnership is the seventh p of humane marketing. but people feel like, especially beginning entrepreneurs, they have a hard time because they they kind of lack a bit of confidence. they don't have a, you know, a really built out offering yet. um, so is there anything that you would suggest where they can start, you know, creating more partnerships with with others? Speaker 1: i think, uh, it's just being as generous as you can, um, you know, while still, of course, taking care of yourself. but the best partnerships i've ever had, they even though i've never met these people, you know, they they live on the internet, uh, for me. but it feels like i'll be stepping into their kitchen and being like, oh, let me tell you that sales page for you or like, oh, and they'll do that for me. right? like, pepsi will be like, oh, you know that logo? let's change it a little bit. so it's these these micro, um, i guess, interactions or encounters where people are showing their values, they're demonstrating them, and they're being really generous. and there's no, like, endgame. right? it's not that i'm secretly, you know, editing people's copy to build up to, like, oh, but then they will hire me. i don't care. it's fun for me. it's easy. it takes me absolutely no time whatsoever, and it really helps somebody. and, eventually, maybe we'll work together. or what's much more likely and what tends to happen is they send their friends to me, and that's great too. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. exactly. not have that agenda of thinking, oh, she's gonna hire me. no. but who knows? Speaker 1: who knows? right. yeah. that up there and then something, like, something good comes back more often than not. Speaker 0: yeah. amazing. yeah. great. well, yeah, like i said, i i look forward to having you back in the in the community for this workshop. do you wanna give us a little sneak preview of what we're gonna build on this content, of course, but any anything you'd like to share, what we're gonna be talking about during that workshop? Speaker 1: yeah. well, we'll be talking about the psychology of buying and selling, and then we'll talk we'll go into some specifics of how that can look in different settings. so for instance, in a sales page, in a nurture campaign. and by the end, you'll have this matrix like view of seeing how the psychology of buying and selling can play into any copy and content that you do. so when you read something, you'll be like, that's what they're doing or that's what i need to do. and i love teaching like that because now it's not like, oh, here's my sales page template. go and use it until everybody gets bored. it's no. you understand buying. you understand selling, and you can use those principles to form whatever you need to form that's a fit for you, your offer, and your audience. Speaker 0: yeah. i can't wait. and then if it's anything like the pitching workshop we did, it's very hands on. right? like, we we really get to practice this, which is, um, yeah, it's always the best way to learn. so can't wait to have you in the community. so if anybody wants to join us for this workshop, it's on may 2. and, uh, you can find out all about it at humane.marketing/workshop. we open the community to the public for a small donation, and rachel and i would love to see you there. please also do share rachel where people can find you find out you have a i don't know. it might be too late. can't remember when this, uh, podcast goes out, but you have other workshops also available on your site that, um, i'd love for you to mention. Speaker 1: yeah. uh, i'm very easy to find on the internet. so my website is boltfromthebluecopywriting.com. you can email me at hello@boltfromthebluecopywriting.com, and i will email you back. um, and on my website, like sarah said, you can find different workshops. i teach one free workshop a month, uh, in april, depending on where this when this airs. it's going to be the internet's favorite bio workshop, how to write a bio that doesn't make you sound boring, braggy, or like you have bad boundaries. and i believe i'm teaching the pitching workshop that i taught in the community, uh, in may, like, not for the community. and then after that, we've got positioning and something else. but, yeah, it's all on the website. Speaker 0: cool. yeah. highly recommend them. and, uh, yeah, please join us for the the workshop in the community on may 2. wonderful. thanks so much, uh, rachel. i always appreciate talking to you. always learn something new. maybe, uh, last question. where do you do you see any new developments? like, given that all this ai is coming in, like, what's gonna make us stand out from the human, uh, side of things? Speaker 1: yeah. well, as i've been saying on the internet for, i don't know, forever, human is the only move left. moments like this, whether it's ai, whether it's, you know, the seo update internet apocalypses that come upon us, they're filters and opportunities. and who rises up is whoever is able to be most human and most themselves and most in relationship with the people around them, and that's just how it is. the tools, the tools, the tool. it's gonna stop being shiny after a while. yes. it has absolutely changed the way we work, but it's still us humans, people doing the work together. and so the more you can show up as you as human, the better you're gonna be. Speaker 0: yeah. it's all it's all on relationships. that's, you know, that's that's how we sell as well. it's really like, have we spent the time building the relationship even if we never see them, but they often feel like they know us because they've been reading our emails or substacks or linkedin posts. so it all matters. yeah. amazing. thanks so much. Speaker 1: yeah. see you soon.

4/25/25 • 39:53

In this episode, I'm joined by leadership guide Lisa Foulger for a gentle yet powerful conversation about what animals can teach us about leadership and business. We explore the wisdom in slowing down, the power of presence, and how reconnecting with nature can shift the way we lead, work, and live. From her life in Costa Rica to her insights on the Inner Development Goals, Lisa offers a refreshing, nature-inspired perspective that invites entrepreneurs to embrace a more sustainable, mindful, and humane way of doing business. In this episode, we discussed… What sparked Lisa's interest in discovering leadership lessons from animals. Why the sloth became her animal of focus—and what makes it such a powerful and unexpected teacher for leadership and business. The cultural obsession with hustling—and how adopting a sloth-like approach can lead to more humane, sustainable business practices. Lisa's life in Costa Rica, and whether Costa Ricans relate to nature differently than people in more industrialized parts of the world. The Western tendency to separate nature from work—and how we can gently bring nature back into our leadership and business practices. The role of mindfulness and slowing down in building a business world that's more sustainable, kind, and connected. How Costa Rica is pioneering the application of the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) at a national level—and what that looks like in daily life and leadership. A simple, nature-inspired step that listeners can take today to bring more wisdom and presence into how they lead. Watch this episode on YouTube --- Sarah: hello, humane marketers. welcome back to the humane marketing podcast. the place to be for the generation that cares. this is a show where we talk about running your business in a way that feels good to you, is aligned with your values, and also resonates with today's conscious customers because it's humane, ethical, and non pushy. i'm sarah senecroce, your hippie turned conscious business coach for quietly rebellious entrepreneurs and change makers, mama bear of the humane marketing circle, and renegade author of marketing like we're human, selling like we're human, and soon also my third book, business like we're human. if after listening to the show for a while, you're ready to move on to the next level and start implementing and would welcome a community of like minded, quietly rebellious entrepreneurs who discuss with transparency what works and what doesn't work in business, then we'd love to welcome you in our humane marketing circle. if you're picturing your typical facebook group, let me paint a new picture for you. this is a closed community of like minded entrepreneurs from all over the world who come together in two meetups per month to hold each other accountable and build their business in a conscious and sustainable way. we all share with transparency and vulnerability what works and what doesn't work in our business so that you can figure out what works for you, instead of keep throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash circle. twice per year, i host my signature program, the marketing like we're human, aka the client resonator program live. in a deep dive into the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala, you will learn to market from within. this program is for you if you want and need to get more clients, but want to share your message in an ethical and humane way. if you want to make a difference with your work. if you are just starting out, or if you have been in business for a while, but haven't really found the marketing activities that work for you. or also, if you are pivoting your business from business as usual to your life's work and want to radically change the way you get clients. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash program. and finally, if you prefer one on one support from me, my humane business coaching could be just what you need, whether it's for your marketing, sales, general business building, or help with your big idea like writing a book. i'd love to share my brain and my heart with you together with my almost twenty years business experience and help you grow a sustainable business that is joyful and sustainable. if you love this podcast, wait until i show you my mama bear qualities as my one on one client. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash coaching. Sarah1: welcome back, friends. i am back from two amazing weeks in egypt. if you're on my email list, you hopefully enjoyed the pictures i sent. it truly was amazing. and just in the last few days, a team of scientists from italy made a new discovery of gigantic structures underneath the giza plateau. they're using some kind of radar technology, and they found pillars as tall as the eiffel tower. imagine that. i'm just so excited about all the new discoveries we'll be making about our long lost ancestors and civilizations. to me, it it really is this passion about, yeah, what makes us human and how this all started. and and maybe it's at the border of humans and, you know, some other kind of beings. but, anyway, if we ever meet at a cafe, well, i can talk about this for hours. but back to today's conversation, which fits under the partnership. this time, we're partnering with animals, and i'm talking to community member lisa folger. if you're a regular here, you know that i'm organizing the conversations around the seven ps of the humane marketing mandala. and if you're new here and don't know what i'm talking about, you can download your one page marketing plan with the humane marketing version of the seven piece of marketing at humane.marketing/ 1 page. that's the letter that's the number one and the letters page. it comes with seven email prompts to really help you reflect on these different piece for your business. so a few words about lisa. a dynamic leadership coach and best selling author with over thirty five years of corporate and entrepreneurial learning and success, including twenty five pioneering years at hp, lisa folger is an international coaching federation professional certified coach and is certified in scaling up positive intelligence and among others. lisa inspires leaders to scale their mindsets, their teams, and their businesses to make a positive impact in the world. passionate about cultivating healthy mindsets, driving transformative impact, and advancing global sustainability, she leaves a lasting positive mark on people and the planet. a proud mother of three awe inspiring daughters, lisa thrives in vibrant cost costa rica where she continues to inspire others through her leadership and vision. so in this episode, we discussed what sparked lisa's interest in discovering leadership lessons from animals, why the sloth became her animal of focus, and what makes it such a powerful and unexpected teacher for leadership and business, the cultural obsession with hustling and how adopting a sloth like approach can lead to more humane, sustainable business practices. lisa's life in costa rica and whether costa ricans relate to nature differently than people in more industrialized parts of the world. the western tendency to separate nature from work and how we can gently bring nature back into our leadership and business practices, the role of mind mindfulness, how costa rica is pioneering the application of the inner development goals, idgs, at a national level, and what that looks like in daily life and leadership, and then a simple nature inspired step that listeners can take today to bring more wisdom and presence into how they lead. so without further ado, let's listen to this conversation between lisa folger and myself. Sarah2: hey, lisa. it's good to hang out with you. Lisa: hi, sarah. glad to be here. Sarah2: yeah. good to have you. first time on the humane marketing podcast. so excited. we talk regularly through the humane marketing community and you've been in the program, so we know each other quite well. i feel so it's always the conversations always go deeper, when we know each other. right. so looking forward to talk about animals and leadership sessions, not sessions. and what i wanna say, lessons that we can learn from from animals. so, yeah. you hosted a session last year during our humane marketing circle expo with colleagues, rory and aslam, around this topic of what can we learn from animals for our leadership. so first, i'm curious to know how did you come up with this topic? like, why this topic? what fascinated you about this topic? Lisa: yes. certainly. i mean, the theme was, you know, kinda learning from nature is what we challenge ourselves. what would we bring to bear? because each of us lives in a different country. we all spend a lot of time outside in nature, and we were i think the conversation initially started when aslam was looking out her window in a london tower and saw the beautiful array of swans doing all sorts of amazing positions, looking so calm, looking so conscious, looking so just reflective and contemplative. and, you know, it really caught her attention, and she's been fascinated. so she's always telling us stories about the swans. but then at one point, she said, you know what? i looked it up and really underneath the surface, the swans are pedaling furiously. i mean, it's chaotic. it's crazy. it's phrenic. and we said, wow. yet from the outside, it's so calm, so, you know, beautifully, patient. and said, what else? i mean, could we learn because we resonate with that. you know, so many times, we are frenetically moving and doing and, scurrying to be ready. and yet when it takes place, we're actually present. and just being there is all that's really needed. and so it just spurred a level of curiosity and interest, to investigate. so we each said, okay. pick a favorite animal. let's talk about what are some of the leadership lessons we can learn. and i, living in costa rica and having sloths as neighbors thought, you know, why not? like, that's like the opposite of the scurry is the very slow and methodical and patient and present sloth. and so that's what i chose. and then rory chose the elephant because it had such female leadership qualities that we all admired and all three of us being female leaders were like, wow. you know, that's fabulous. let's tap into that. so it was a really curious exploration, and it's continued. like, the year since that has gone on, we have had various conversations and in-depth contemplations on what will we do with that next. and so we're working right now on what our next expo theme will be. and it's all around being. i think we will choose some animal influences as well. one of the ones that i am playing with right now is the monkey because monkeys are also part of my neighborhood collection of beautiful nature. and i love the curiosity element of monkeys. and so one of the elements that i'm playing with. but it was, you know, a way to find a theme that we're all passionate about and, you know, have it be a bit playful and engaging. and so in the workshop, you know, we had our three animals, but we had many other people join and share their favorite animals and what lessons that they had learned from them. so i think there's a lot that we can pick up from our surroundings and our environment and nature as you well know. Sarah2: yeah. yeah. it's so beautiful. and and it reminded me of the i i just hosted a a podcast, with the title is slow business more humane, with my friend, andy mort. and this he calls himself a slow business coach or a slow coach. and and so it just reminded me of you and the sloths. and and so it's so controversial, right, to bring slowness into business. and so it it takes well, it takes courage to say, well, actually, i do want to, you know, make it slower. and and so, yeah, i'm just curious what kind of things you shared around the sloths and and what qualities you appreciate from the sloth. Lisa: yeah. and i'm glad you mentioned andy because i got to that part in your book, and i love the reference and the connection to the sloth, and going slower, going deeper. that's been a big, big journey of mine, especially in the last couple years. i left the corporate world eight years ago, after a twenty five year run. and now working with more small and medium businesses, i am finding that being conscious and really building the mental resilience to handle the ups and downs that are going on around us is such an important leadership skill. so from the sloth perspective, you know, they're very, very intentional. like, they usually come down from the tree once a month. Sarah2: wow. it's amazing. once a month. Lisa: they have to plan really, really well, and they're very slow in their pace, and they're very conscientious because they can't move very fast. they have to be very careful as they plan their moves, to avoid being, you know, attacked by predators or any other danger in the system. they have to find their food very strategically. so they're very, curious, very methodical, very patient, and they're very reflective. so all those qualities make for, handling our crazy chaotic world in a more kind, gentle, patient, and contemplative way, i would say. one of the you know, i wrote a chapter in the book, leading with self awareness last year. and one of the stories that i highlighted is that, you know, often we open doors. the chapter is called, you know, opening doors to discover me. but often we open doors and we have no idea what we're entering into. and that ability to be patient, to be present, to be calm, to be curious is such a beautiful gift to discover what opportunities lie ahead. and so i'm a big believer, in creating the spaciousness to allow that perspective to show up, and it's not so easy. like, i'm a recovering corporate a level, you know, executive for many, many, many years. it took some real life changes and choices to put that first and foremost in my perspective. Sarah2: yeah. yeah. and it's such a big topic, right, of the business like we're human book. it's like the and i only remember one line, from your, case study when you went through the marketing like we're human program. you you said the depth was always there, but it took this program or the pausing to discover it or rediscover it. right? and so that's what that's what we do when we take when we create the spaciousness. and we, yeah, we are sloths like. we probably another thing is, like, from the outside looking in, the sloth looks like, well, it's just a lazy couch potato. but, actually, there's probably yeah. like you said, a lot of planning, a lot of deep thinking, a lot of strategizing that that goes on, that we don't see from the outside looking in. Lisa: absolutely. and the slot has partnerships, with all sorts of other animals that support their ecosystem. and so they don't even though they seem very solo animals, they actually weave a set of strategic partnerships that help them thrive. and sometimes that's not present. like, you can't see that Sarah2: mhmm. nobody Lisa: else. but, yeah, there's a lot of depth to that choice. and for me, another big turning point was having a significant accident. so i had a surfing accident. or it kinda took me off the road map for three months and, you know, healing journey of one year. that process of having to slow down and start over and rebuild was, you know, tremendously insightful. it was hard. it was super, super difficult and painful and, you know, all of the, challenges that come along with injury and recovery. yet it was super profound for me to rediscover what was most valuable to me. so to reconnect with my values, it was the time when i was rebuilding my business after a big transition, and a super important gift that, you know, i can clearly see. during the process, it was, you know, challenging for sure. and now looking back, i think it was a blessing in disguise. Sarah2: mhmm. yeah. yeah. it's just unfortunate that often our body kind of needs to give us this yeah. Lisa: wake up call? Sarah2: wake up call. yeah. indeed. if we don't hear it ourselves. another thing comes to mind, and you mentioned that you're living in costa rica. from the outside looking in, we have this idea of costa rica being, yeah, you know, a different culture, a kind of more outgoing culture, probably a culture that is not as money and profit and productivity driven as maybe, you know, some of our western cultures. is that the case? and has when you moved to costa rica, has something changed already just in that move for you? Lisa: for sure. for sure. so it's a quite a different culture from the united states that i moved from seventeen years ago. so mhmm. it's, well indoctrinated in me, the pura vida lifestyle, you know, living a pure life. for sure, the culture is slower. it's more family oriented. it's, you know, be first and then do second, very opposite of the united states and the life that i had lived before i came to costa rica. you know, there's certainly challenges. the infrastructure, the bureaucracy, i mean, process and operational efficiency is not a strength in costa rica. it's a beautiful small country and the nature is spectacular and it's ever present wherever you are in the country. so yeah, that slowing down to adapt to a very different culture in a different system was, you know, a jolt to my, nervous system for sure. and, you know, it took years, but i'd probably say two or three years later, i i think i kind of wove into the groove. having children and adopting to their schedules and all of that is a great assimilation strategy for moving to a new country. so that was a great asset as well. but yeah. i mean, the things that i appreciate about the slower pace and the higher quality of life and, you know, security and just nature at your doorstep is, you know, well built into my routines. from a daily perspective, i get up and i usually go for a walk. and, you know, i can take three steps out my door and be in beautiful nature, which i appreciate. and, you know, the weather's temperate, so, you know, i can put a t shirt and shorts on and head out anytime of the year. i love that too. but one of the things that i have realized as i've, you know, kinda cultivated my career, because i have clients globally and i travel around the world, is that when i come back home, there's just like a a sigh and a deep, you know, breath that i take that i kinda take it back in, and i miss it. i truly do miss it. one of the ways, recently, just in the last year, i've started doing retreats, for women here in costa rica. i have my second one coming up in september, september twenty eighth to october third. and it's recharge. it's recharge for mindful women. and the idea is how can you pour into yourself as you pour into everybody else in all aspects of your life. because i find we women professionals, especially, extend ourselves and stretch ourselves very thin. and so, i have found on a daily basis how to recharge, but i think a lot of women struggle to do that really well. and so offering a week away to indulge in beautiful nature and feed you your soul, you know, heart, mind, and body is an excursion and experience that is a beautiful thing to offer. Sarah2: yeah. i i when people ask me what works in marketing right now, i always say beauty, nature, you know, self care. those are the things that that people crave right now. so so yeah, if you're having something like that to offer is is amazing. and i was just thinking how similar it is with me arriving in sicily, because we have a place in sicily, and it's kind of very similar. you know? it's like it's chaotic in terms of administration and and laws and everything like that. and yet it's such a different lifestyle. like, it all it's all about, like you said, family, friends, good food. that's what matters to people there. right? and then the work come come second. and i remember now we have our own car there, but we used to have a rental car and then arriving at the airport and then having to rent the car. at the beginning, the first few times we went, i was, like, so anxious and nervous because it took them forever to set up this rental car. it was, like, an hour of paperwork and everything was in paper still. like, i'm like, come on. and then eventually i just kind of like laughed at myself. i'm like, oh, look at, look at you, the swiss. who's like, oh, you know, work, work, work. no, you have arrived. this is it. take it slow. right. and it's, yeah, it's interesting that you also can get that experience of just breathing out when you get back home and you're like, i made it home. i can be calm and relaxed now. yeah. another thing that, that i'm thinking of with in relation to costa rica is that, at the last, inner development goals, summit i was, they actually brought costa rica as an example because you guys use the inner development goals on a national level. and that's, like, that's unheard of. right? it's such a huge testimony to what matters even at the government level. so i'm just curious if you, yeah, how that's being visible in costa rica, if i if at all? like, do they talk about it? Lisa: absolutely. there's quite a marketing campaign, the essential of costa rica and christina figueres, whom you know from all of that work around idg and just kind of how do we create a better world and how do we protect what we have. i mean, she's been very, very vocal and very visible in the country, but we have, you know, great resources for such a tiny country in the world. and the preservation of that is a utmost priority in the country. there's great focus. there's great resources. there's great knowledge and commitment to in that. so, yes, it's, you know, very important and built into the systemic structure of all of costa rica. so very Sarah2: we talk mainly about animals, but in the business like we're human book, i just talk about nature in general and and talk about some of the ways that i've integrated nature into into my business. how you mentioned walks. is there any other ways that you even bring it into client work or or just kinda like how you, yeah, integrate nature and animals and other living beings on this planet into your work? Lisa: no. i do. a lot of times when i am meeting with clients in quarterly workshops, we build time in nature into it. it's kind of a way to breathe. it's kind of a way to decompress. it's kind of a way to kind of go deeper from within, and it connects teams powerfully. i mean, greater creativity, greater resourcefulness, greater connection, building vulnerability amongst the team happens so much faster when you're outside than when you're in a conference room or in your, you know, office meeting room. i'm a big advocate of exercise too. and so a lot of times, with my clients on a one on one basis, we'll talk about their routines. like, how do you build movement into, your routine as a way to kind of process, as a way to feed, you know, your soul, as a way to be healthy as well. and a lot of times that involves being outside in nature. i'm a big fan of awe walks, awe. and so i spent a week with doctor doctor doctor keltner. he leads the better services science center at university of berkeley in california. and he has researched awe for, like, thirty years. he has a fascinating book called awe. he's got several books. and it's amazing how there's so many sources. he has, like, eight principles of awe, nature being one of them. but, you know, collective ever essence, like the time favorite too. yeah. i mean, it's such a beautiful thing. and so often when i do retreats with clients, that ability to be disconnected from the workspace, but yet together is that collective ever essence. it just brings out the best in people and, you know, it really fuels creativity and innovation. it's a super powerful force. and i find combining that in nature is spectacular. so Sarah2: yeah. especially in a place where, you know, you can always go outside. so why wouldn't you? why wouldn't you use nature as a classroom? yeah. Lisa: and it doesn't matter the weather. i mean, i i have clients in all different, atmospheres and climates and, you know, bundle up if it's cold. it doesn't matter. get outside and experience that. it's a a beautiful resource available to us at any moment. Sarah2: mhmm. yeah. if you had to give, like, one advice from the sloths to the business owners, entrepreneurs who are listening, what would that be? Lisa: yeah. move slower. just move slower. take more in. i love that sloths are super observant. and that's part of their kinda maintaining their, you know, lifestyle and being a survival skill. i think we as humans go too fast, and we build things in. like, busyness is a factor of success. and and i think that's part of the paradigm that you're working on in business like we're human. it's important to me too. how do you take things more slowly and actually more richly connect and generate greater impact? i mean, there's not a correlation for me on generating impact is my passion and my purpose and my work, and there's no correlation with going fast with that. it actually defeats the purpose. and so the slower you go, actually, generally, the better results you can attain. mhmm. yeah. i would say go slower, be more observant, and, you know, really focus in on what's most important. Sarah2: yeah. and go deeper with your work as well because you're going slower. yeah. Lisa: absolutely. so often when leaders come to me, they wanna scale their businesses super fast, and that's always the desire. and i say, okay. what have you tried before? what's worked? what hasn't worked? and i always say, you know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different outcome. so let's try a different trajectory. so i spend quite a bit of time with clients in teams because i work with founders and leaders and their leadership teams to kinda build that vulnerability, that deep connection, that trust so that then when they journey together, they can go further, not necessarily faster, but it often happens that it happens faster because they have a very profound, deeply connected and well aligned structure and path to journey together. but that human connection and really building the strong resilient team is always the first step. and it amazes my clients. it it continues to delight me at how powerful a leadership quality that can be to achieving whatever they set out to achieve. and often, while their initial goals are i wanna, you know, hit a bigger number, i wanna hit it sooner, i want to, contribute more financials to the book, they very quickly identify impact goals as well. like, what's the difference in the world i wanna make? and how will the success of my business make the world i live in better? and how do i contribute to that? which is, you know, so rewarding for me. Sarah2: yeah. and you basically hold the space to help them slow down. right? Lisa: yeah. the guide on the journey indeed. yeah. yeah. Sarah2: it's beautiful. wow. thank you so much for for being the sloth and and being the role model as, you know, it again, i think it takes a little bit of courage to say, i don't, there's no shame in being the sloth. i want to be the sloth. i want you to understand the power of being the sloth. and, and that's exactly the role models that we were missing up till now, because, you know, look where it got us. and so, yeah, i applaud you for for being the sloth and sharing what we can learn from these, from nature around us and animals and and everything. so Lisa: thank you, sarah. Sarah2: please do share where people can find you. sorry. Lisa: i was just gonna add one thing. one of the questions i always ask, and this was at the end of my chapter, is what are you courageously willing to say yes to and not know what's on the other side? mhmm. but to do that, you have to courageously say, what am i willing to quit yeah. or say no to to allow the spaciousness to kinda enter into the unknown. to your question, where you can find more information about me is my website, which is w w w dot lisa folger, f o u l g e r, dot com. yep. and i've got information on the verdesana costa rica retreat and all the different offerings i do around scaling your mindset, to scaling your leadership, to scaling your team, and ultimately scaling your business. Sarah2: wonderful. i love how you combine scaling with such a mindfulness mindful approach and slow approach. right? because it to me, it's a perfect example of understanding what people want and then giving them what they need. and so what they want is to scale and fast and hustle. and then you're like, wait a minute. yeah. we're gonna get to what you want, but we're gonna do it in a slightly different way. so, yeah, i love that. love that. and i also look forward to the to the next session at the expo and continue our animal journey. so excited for that. thank Lisa: you. we're excited as well. and i think we'll even expand beyond animals, into nature. but, yeah, there's a lot to explore around being and a fascinating topic to explore. Sarah2: yeah. i'm actually just off to a trip to egypt and, you know, find out what we can learn from ancient civilizations, whether they were human or not human, but just kind of like tapping into the ancient wisdom wisdom as well. so Lisa: i'll report back. yes. enjoy fully. that sounds fascinating. Sarah2: thank you. Sarah3: i hope you got some great value and inspiration from listening to this episode. find out more about lisa and her work at wwwlisafolger.com. and if you're looking for others who think like you, then why not join us in the humane marketing circle? lisa is an active member in our community as well. find out more at humane.marketing/circle. and you'll find the show notes of this episode at humane.marketing/hm20seven. and on this beautiful page, you'll also find a series of free offers, the humane business manifesto, as well as my two books, marketing like we're human and selling like we're human. and soon, my third book, business like we're human. thanks so much for listening and being part of a generation of marketers who cares for yourself, your clients, and the planet. we are change makers before we are marketers, so go be the change you want to see in the world. speak soon.

4/11/25 • 34:41

In this episode of the Humane Marketing Podcast, I'm joined by Bev Feldman who shares her refreshing perspective on email marketing rooted in empathy rather than manipulation. Together we explore how conscious entrepreneurs can build authentic connections through their email communications by prioritizing consent, transparency, and genuine value. Bev reveals her ALIGN framework that transforms traditional email marketing into a trust-building process, helping you connect meaningfully with your audience without resorting to aggressive sales tactics. Whether you're struggling with low engagement or feeling uncomfortable with conventional marketing approaches, this conversation offers practical strategies to make your email marketing more human, ethical, and ultimately more effective. Discover how respecting your subscribers' agency and meeting them where they are can create stronger relationships and better business outcomes. In our time together, we talked about: The importance of consent in email marketing and not adding people to lists without permission How Substack functions as both a newsletter platform and community Best practices for email marketing with empathy, including the contrast with typical sales funnel approaches What engagement really means in email marketing (beyond just open rates) Using storytelling to build genuine connections through email Common mistakes people make with email marketing tools Finding the balance between automation and personalization in email marketing The upcoming workshop on April 2nd and Beth's ALIGN framework for email marketing Watch this episode on YouTube --- Speaker 0: hello, humane marketers. welcome back to the humane marketing podcast, the place to be for the generation that cares. this is a show where we talk about running your business in a way that feels good to you, is aligned with your values, and also resonates with today's conscious customers because it's humane, ethical, and non pushy. i'm sarah zaneckroce, your hippie turned conscious business coach for quietly rebellious entrepreneurs and change makers. mama bear of the humane marketing circle and renegade author of marketing like we're human, selling like we're human, and soon also my third book, business like we're human. if after listening to the show for a while, you're ready to move on to the next level and start implementing and would welcome a community of like minded quietly rebellious entrepreneurs who discuss with transparency what works and what doesn't work in business, then we'd love to welcome you in our humane marketing circle. if you're picturing your typical facebook group, let me paint a new picture for you. this is a closed community of like minded entrepreneurs from all over the world who come together in two meet ups per month to hold each other accountable and build their business in a conscious and sustainable way. we all share with transparency and vulnerability what works and what doesn't work in our business so that you can figure out what works for you instead of keep throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash circle. twice per year, i host my signature program, the marketing like we're human, aka the client resonator program live. in a deep dive into the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala, you will learn to market from within. this program is for you if you want and need to get more clients, but want to share your message in an ethical and humane way. if you want to make a difference with your work. if you are just starting out, or if you have been in business for a while, but haven't really found the marketing activities that work for you. or also, if you are pivoting your business from business as usual to your life's work and want to radically change the way you get clients. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash program. and finally, if you prefer one on one support from me, my humane business coaching could be just what you need, whether it's for your marketing, sales, general business building, or help with your big idea like writing a book. i'd love to share my brain and my heart with you together with my almost twenty years business experience and help you grow a sustainable business that is joyful and sustainable. if you love this podcast, wait until i show you my mama bear qualities as my one on one client. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash coaching. welcome back, friends. today's conversation fits under the p of promotion of the humane marketing mandala. if you're a regular here, you know that i'm organizing the conversations around the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala. and if you're new here and are listening for the first time, you probably don't know what i'm talking about, but you can download your one page marketing plan with the humane marketing version of the seven p's of marketing at humane dot marketing forward slash one page. that's the number one and the word page and for the non native english native english speakers, humane is humane with an e at the end. so human and an e at the end. this comes with seven email prompts to really help you reflect on these different piece for your business. so it's a self reflective exercise and not just a seven step guide to follow. i'm talking to beth feldman today, whose values on email marketing are very much aligned with our humane movement. beth is a kit, formerly convertkit consultant and email marketing strategist at your personal tech fairy. her approach to email marketing is grounded in consent, human connection, and giving subscribers agency while also keeping things streamlined and simplified. though much of her time is spent in the digital world, bev's an an analog girl at heart, preferring reading physical books over ebooks, doing jigsaw puzzles, and meeting in person with friends and fellow business owners. in our time together, we talked about the importance of con consent in email marketing and not adding people to lists without permission, how substack functions as both a newsletter platform and community, best practices for email marketing with empathy, including the contrast with typical sales funnel approaches, what engagement really means in email marketing beyond just opening rates, using storytelling to build genuine connections through email, common mistakes people make with email marketing tools, finding the balance between automation and personalization in email. and then, uh, beth also gives us a sneak preview to the upcoming workshop on april second and shares her aligned framework for email marketing. so if after listening to this episode, you'd like to join us for the live collab workshop and work on your welcoming sequence and more, then please join us in our community with a small donation. you'll find all the details at humane dot marketing forward slash workshop. it takes place on april second, five pm central european time, and that's eleven am eastern time in the us. alright. let's dive in. beth, it's good to talk to you. welcome to the humane marketing podcast. thank you, sarah. it's good to have you here. email marketing with empathy. uh, i think that's your spiel. right? Speaker 1: yes. very much so. Speaker 0: um, on your website, i'm gonna start with, uh, something i found on your website. you say my approach is rooted in consent, human connection, and strategies that align with your values. mhmm. tell us more about that. Speaker 1: yeah. so and i think i think you've kind of alluded to how you've changed your marketing over the years, but i for me, it's been very similar that i think we're those of us who've been in this online business space for a while are very much have been bombarded with a lot of messaging on, quote, unquote, the right way to market our businesses. and i know for myself, i've tried a whole bunch of strategies that, you know, i did because they, quote, unquote, worked, but they didn't ever fully sit right with me. and i think a lot of times the what we hear is a very much a one size fits all approach to marketing, but what works for one business model might not work for another business model. similarly, you can have two businesses that are technically the same business model and once a strategy that works for one person will not work or for one business will not work for another for another. so that's really much about where i kind of bring in my approach that it's looking at, does something sit right with me? and if not, then maybe you should be evaluated. and think about, like, not so much does this sit right with me, but if i'm on the receiving end of this strategy, how would i feel? and if you knew know that you it wouldn't sit right with you, probably not a good strategy to use. uh, as a and then similarly or kinda not similarly, but going back going back to the other one, consent, that, you know, being here in the us, we have kind of some more lax rules around privacy and consent. and, technically, you can add people to your email list whether or not they have consented. and i think many of us have been on the receiving end of receiving emails that we did not ask for. so my approach is, you know, very much, did people ask to be on be added to your email list? it will not work with people who purchased the email list. that's just it's it's not good for a whole bunch of reasons. so it's not gonna help with your email showing up in people's inboxes if you're you adding people who didn't ask to be there. so it's just kind of this weird strategy that i think some people still use even though i really don't believe it works because people don't we're all bombarded with emails, and we don't wanna receive things that we didn't sign up for. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. it that's it it it always surprises me when i'm, you know, talking to someone, like, on linkedin, for example. and, yeah, we have a good exchange in the e in the linkedin messages. and then sure enough, like, two days later, i received their newsletter. mhmm. and i'm like, well, how do i say this in a kind way? but just because we talked, it doesn't mean that i wanna receive your your newsletter. exactly. and yet some people still believe that that's how it works. yeah. Speaker 1: yeah. exactly. i actually had something similar happen where i was talking to someone and they messaged me and they said, oh, i'm doing this workshop. would you like the information? i'm like, sure. send it over. and they're like, okay. i i added your your email to my list. and i was like, excuse me. that's not what i said. i said, send me the information, not add me to your email list. Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: and they also use an email that i very intentionally an email address i very intentionally don't use to sign up for for for email list. and so they kind of also took away my own agency over deciding, like, should do i wanna sign up for it? which email address do i wanna use to sign up for it? so yeah. gonna feel good. and i do a lot Speaker 0: of times, it's well intentioned because they just want to, you know, share their good work, and i'm sure they're doing good work. Speaker 1: but yes. Speaker 0: yeah. there's some kind of, like, rules to to respect and consent is is pretty much the first one. right? Speaker 1: exactly. and you can always still invite someone. say, oh, you know, in this situation, you know, if you connected with someone and i've done this where i've invited people. i've been given a little, you know, like, you know, if you like this conversation and you like what i share, you might be interested in receiving my newsletter. here's what it's about and here's the link to sign up. and i've had lots of people, you know, i've had people say say, no thanks, i'm all set. i'm like, great. i've had other people thank me. they're like, oh, thank you so much. i just signed up. mhmm. Speaker 0: and i Speaker 1: think it feels good on both ends, even getting that note. like it knowing that people had that ability to decide options. both. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. exactly. yeah. yeah. we recently talked about substack in one of my programs, and, uh, people asked me about it because they heard good things. and i shared that i really like the idea of having an a newsletter mixed with a community, and then always also the option to sign up. but you don't have to because you can read the the content without having to sign up. so that combination, i think they really figured something out there that that it's not every not everything is locked behind this email wall, and and it just really feels like a good platform. are you on substack? Speaker 1: i am not on substack. not mostly because i'm so active on doing my newsletter on kit, formerly convertkit, that i didn't i it just felt like i would be Speaker 0: dividing it to my things. yeah. Speaker 1: but i have seen people do that well where they have both a substack newsletter substack newsletter and then an email marketing software newsletter because i think it is a is an important distinction to make an important distinction to make. that substack is intended to be a newsletter. so it's really for things more like thought leadership. and there's it's fuzzy because it's not really a promotional platform even from my doing my research on this because i'm asked so often, substack versus kit, that it actually goes against their terms of services to be used exclusively right. to promote your your products and services. it's not an email marketing software. but i have seen people kind of use it in both ways. um, i've also seen people who use an email marketing software for their business and use substack. they'll mention what it is they do, but they use it more for something that's maybe related, but not quite what they do for their business. Speaker 0: yeah. i like that. the combination of both because to me, substack is also more community building. mhmm. because there's the option to comment, and then, you know, there can be a conversation started where on email, well, if people do hit reply, it's still one on one. it's still yes. so it's it's not community based. so exactly. yeah. yeah. that makes a lot of sense. alright. so talk to us a little bit about best best practices when it comes to email marketing and using empathy. and maybe you can start with the anti, uh, you know, dough or the anti hero, uh, example of what it's like, like the typical funnel, of course. Speaker 1: yes. oh my gosh. i have such a clear example of this that happened just a few weeks ago. i was listening to someone's summit and someone, one of the participants was had something that they were giving away. and i said, you know what? i'll i'll sign up for their freebie. and immediately, i was pulled right into this very intense sales funnel where i was getting with i think in the five days i lasted on their list, i'd received, like, seventy emails. i didn't count exactly, but it was some days i did notice i was getting two emails, and i just signed up. and my options at this point were to delete or just delete them because i wasn't interested in what they were selling at that time. and if i was just to full on delete those emails, it's not good for the business owner. so when you think about email marketing, you want people to read and engage with your emails, and people not opening and just deleting your emails are one of the worst things that for a business owner because it can impact your deliverability or your email you know, the ability of your emails to show up in in people's inboxes. so, anyway, my options were to delete them to really just to delete them or unsubscribe. and, ultimately, i went with unsubscribe because i was like, this is this is way too much. now, kind of the opposite of that, the more empathy driven version of it, and it's something that i practice and i put in i will work with my clients to do is to to give people the option a couple things. to really set some clear expectations of here's how many emails you're gonna receive from me about x thing over the however many of days, and then you can you'll expect to hear from me on whatever. even if they said, oh, you know, i email every day. at least gives me some indication. i don't know. the other thing is giving people the option to opt out of certain things. so if this person had said to me, you know, i'm selling selling you know, over the next week, you're gonna receive a bunch of a number of emails about this particular offer, and here's why i think it will help you. if you don't wanna receive those emails right now but wanna stay on my regular email list, you know, my regular weekly newsletter or whatever, click here, and i'll do that. and that would have felt like that would have given me some control. it would have acknowledged that just because i signed up for this free thing doesn't mean i wasn't that it would it would have acknowledged that just because i signed up for this free thing didn't mean in that moment i was ready to buy the bigger thing. but it still kinda left the would have left the doors open for me to say, well, maybe down the line. and that's really how i approach email marketing that just because in this moment in time time you are selling something doesn't mean the person on the receiving end is is a good time for them or they wanna hear about it. and giving people the option to opt out of things versus just getting every single thing you send is really the way to lead with empathy. and it it's leaves people on your email list feeling good, and it also helps you as the business owner, again, to make sure you're just sending the emails to people who want to hear hear from you. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. and and just the idea of selling in that welcoming sequence is kinda strange to me to begin with. like yeah. right? Speaker 1: yeah. it felt it felt strange to me. and and maybe this works for that person, and that's why they do it. but i felt as the on the receiving end, a little shell shocked, i guess. i was like, what is happening? Speaker 0: well, it's a typical funnel approach. it's like, oh, i give you this free thing, then you want this, you know, low cost item under twenty bucks, and then i had got you hooked, and then you're gonna actually. so so that's the typical way that we're taught to yeah. set up a funnel. right? Speaker 1: oh, yeah. and just to be clear, you know, i did this too. like, this is how i was taught. i was like, okay, this is what i should be doing. and i had for my former business, i had a jewelry business and i did this. and i didn't actually make that many sales from it, quite honestly. and it required at one point, i was you know, i paid for this extra extra technology that was just costing me more money than i was making. and then i was like, well, i can do it without paying for it, but then i manually had to go and update things and lead pages every week. and i was like, why am i doing this? this is such a waste of my time and money. and i'd rather just give people information, give them the option to always you know, here's that thing. like, i can still link to it. yeah. the things that they can buy. but i was like, in retrospect, i'm like, what? what was i doing? but i think i needed to learn those lessons Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: so that i could do what i do now so much better. Speaker 0: right. yeah. no. i totally hear you. like, all the retargeting strategies that we were learning, if they click this, then now sell them this and yep. all of that. and it might work for an ecommerce site, probably still works. but for something like us, where we are actually selling trust and human connection, that is just, like, the opposite of what should be happening in these emails. right? it should be trust building and not trust yeah. take a great trust, really. that's what it does. i'm sure that's how you felt with with these the the series of bombarding emails, wanting to buy. yeah. yeah. i Speaker 1: was like, this is not what i signed up for. Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: wow. yeah. it was a a very fast a very fast unsubscribe. Speaker 0: right. you talked about engagement. right? in the end, that's the ultimate goal always. and it's always like, it's this big word that we often use also on social media. in the end, like, what does that mean in a with an email list? you mentioned opening rates and what else? Speaker 1: yeah. so so i will say that you have to kind of take open rates with a grain of salt. they're not very accurate, and this is true across all email marketing all email marketing softwares just because of how things like apple has set things up, which which, you know, from a marketing perspective is frustrating, but from a, you know, consumer privacy perspective, i totally respect why they do that. so it's harder to i wouldn't necessarily use open rates as a good as an engagement marker unless it's in kind of context. so, yeah, opening you know, looking to see if people are opening your emails, first step. better step are people clicking on your emails. and, again, that can be a little tricky to track because some email provider inbox providers will kind of use these bots to pre click things, i think, as a way to make sure that they're not spam. so sometimes click through rates are also not very accurate. but things like replies, you can't fake it. well, i guess you could fake a reply with ai nowadays, but chances are we're not getting too many ai replies at at least this point in time. so if people are replying to your emails, that's a really great indication of engagement. kits added a new feature called polls, and i don't you know, i think different email marketing softwares have different things. but polls, uh, it's like as it sounds. you give people you set up a poll, you ask a question, and people have to click on an answer. but because they have to actually click and then it takes them to a page where they have to confirm, it actually is more accurate because people have to take you know, a bot's not gonna be able to click it twice. Speaker 0: right. Speaker 1: so, um, and i think and, obviously, if you see people purchasing things, but recognize that for, you know, a few things that depending on how your business is set up, you're not gonna be able to necessarily be able to track a click leading to a purchase. um, Speaker 0: or depending on the size of the purchase as well purchase as well. Speaker 1: yeah. exactly. Speaker 0: if it's a five dollar purchase, yeah, then probably that came from the email. but if it's a two thousand dollar course, well, that lead time is much longer. right? so Speaker 1: exactly. exactly. and then, you know, it's if you don't so just because i'll add you don't see people necessarily replying to your emails, especially, you know, if you're at full on asking for replies, it doesn't mean that people aren't engaging with your emails. i think people i've had people actually over outside of my emails just kinda come up in conversation. they'll be like, oh my gosh. i loved your email about x y z, or i love reading your emails. i read every single one. and and it's not like they and it's not like they reply to my emails and tell me that. so sometimes you don't even know, which is, you know, can be kind of the frustration. Speaker 0: because because our subscribers are smart. right? they're they're they're savvy. they know that this email goes out to a group of yeah. however many subscribers. so it almost feels a bit awkward, i think, to people to hit reply to to to an email, uh, that they know goes out to a large group. so i think that's why people don't necessarily always engage because, yeah, they'd rather tell you in person or yeah. in another email or or on social media or something like that. Speaker 1: yeah. can i actually put give a fun engagement? i don't wanna call it a trick, but a a thing you can try if you're feeling frustrated that you're not getting replies to your emails is asking people to reply with a a specific word. mhmm. because i can really open up the door for conversations. i'm actually i am real i'm involved with a local grassroots environmental nonprofit, and i've been doing a lot of the emails. and we hadn't emailed in, like, a year to our group or, actually, we sent an email in the fall, but it basically had been a long time. but i had this idea for reading this book called climate action for busy people. so i didn't wanna plan the whole thing until i knew there was gonna be people who are interested. so i, you know, used a storytelling email storytelling email, and i said, you know, i'm thinking about doing this book club to bring us all together. if you're interested, just reply with the word book club. and within twenty four hours, i think i got seven or eight replies. and this is from a list of people who, like, they haven't really heard from us very much. but i think giving people something a little bit easier to do can be really powerful and a great way to start a conversation. Speaker 0: i love that. that that is yeah. that is very smart because you otherwise, you have to think about what am i gonna say. yeah. especially my subscribers, they're kinda like on the introverted side and, you know, it's like it takes us a good half hour to write an email. and so, yeah, just one word, and it's fast and and easy, and yet it can start a conversation. i love it. Speaker 1: yeah. and sometimes, honestly, even if you ask for a word or, like, give people give a poll, but, like, ask them to reply and just give them, like, choose a if you feel this way, b this way. sometimes you'll actually get more than just that. i've had people reply with to a poll with, like, a, and then they'll go on and write a longer explanation. i think mhmm. making it easy for people so we don't have to get bogged down in the like, these big introspective questions that can feel like a lot to reply to, but make it you know, if you give peep make it a lot simpler for people, again, leading with empathy, recognizing how often we see something in our inbox that feels like, oh, this is really interesting. let me think about it. and then you just forget about it. and not intentionally. yeah. so much going on in Speaker 0: our lives. you mentioned storytelling, so i assume that's another way to, you know, to build this genuine connection via email. so not not actually make it sound sound like email marketing yeah. which it sounds like you and me both, we kind of, you know, learned that way. and and and now it's like, well, actually, we don't wanna make it sound like anybody else. we just wanna make it sound like ourselves. right? oh, absolutely. storytelling is is the best technique there. yeah. Speaker 1: yeah. exactly. and you know what? i've had people say who replied to my emails or have had conversations with this about, and they're like, well, you know, i love how you shared that. i wouldn't feel comfortable necessarily sharing something like that. and that's fine. i think it's only sharing what you feel comfortable sharing about your about your life. like, i share a fair amount about being a mom because it very much impacts everything about my life because i've got two young kids, um, but i never show pictures of them. so for me, that's kind of that boundary i set for myself. yeah. so i feel fine sharing some and i don't share private information about them. i'll you know, i might talk about doing a jigsaw puzzle with my seven year old. Speaker 0: right. yeah. but, you know, we feel that's an important, yeah, thing to state because there was this tendency to use vulnerability as a sales technique. right? so that's definitely not what we're advocating. it's like no. you know, just, yeah, share what feels comfortable sharing. and also, it still has to be somehow related to, you know, the rest of your email, probably the rest of your yeah. just who you are, but not all of a sudden bring up, like, childhood trauma if it's not at all related because you can overwhelm people with too much too much vulnerability. yeah. and you don't want that either. Speaker 1: exactly. yeah. and i think well, i think it's okay, you know, to be vulnerable. but, again, like, what feels right feels right to you and maybe also giving people kind of a heads up if you feel like you're gonna be sharing something that could be very emotionally triggering for someone. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. so in a way, it sounds like we need to find this balance between automation because that's clearly what we're doing. we're using a tool to automate, and yet adding this personal touch to to our emails and to the way we communicate. right? Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. exactly. and i i'd argue kind of going back to what i said earlier that that automation piece. so it's not kind of meeting people where they're at acknowledging now might not be the right time for you. now you might right now you might not wanna receive these emails about this thing, this promotion. at the end of december, i decided to keep going with my newsletter, but i gave people the option to stop hearing from me during that holiday period and and resume receiving my newsletter in january. um, i give people the option to opt out of my welcome sequence. Speaker 0: so this is kind of how i'm using automation as Speaker 1: a tool sequence. so this is kind Speaker 0: of how i'm using Speaker 1: automation as a tool to meet people where they're at. instead of so almost giving them more agency to hear less instead of hearing more from me. Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: or but similarly, if they are also giving people the option to express interest in things and using automation as a tool that way Speaker 0: as well as well. yeah. i like that. the other thing that i liked when i was talking to ellie trier, she's she's on the spectrum, so she's neurodivergent, and she shared something that really resonated with me. she, uh, and it has to do with the email personalization, you know, how we have this tool that lets you use the first name. mhmm. and she is like, i don't understand how neuro normal people think that's normal, that i'm just addressing you as dear sarah or dear bev, where i know for a fact that this email goes out to a lot of people. so to her, that just always feels really strange to to kind of trick her that, oh, it feels like we're just talking the two of us. and i was like, yeah. that makes a lot of sense. so some of my emails, i just started saying, dear ones, or, you know, like, addressing the fact that it's go that i know that it's going out to to the community and not just one on one. yeah. and just, like, thought that fascinating. it's like, yeah. we just all bought into this idea that we use these email personalizations, but to her, that was, like, really bizarre. Speaker 1: yeah. that is such an interesting point. i wonder if i mean, i hear the the acknowledgment of you know, it feels weird when you get that you know, it's not addressed to you personally. or rather, it is addressed to you, but, you know, it goes out to a bunch of people. but from that other perspective, just how weird that is. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: and so i'm glad you brought that up. and, also, you think about sometimes people make errors when they're putting their name in, so maybe they they're like they miss they're like they misspelled their own name or they accidentally write it in all caps. and then it looks like you're shouting their name. Speaker 0: your last name. Speaker 1: at a time. yeah. so i i could definitely see the argument for just taking out that personalization feature altogether and do, like you said, you know, big ones or dear friend or whatever, you know, whatever fits with yeah. Speaker 0: yeah. what you talking about mistakes, what what other mistakes do people people commonly make with these tools? Speaker 1: oh, well, actually, speaking of the personalization feature, sometimes, for whatever reason, people don't get, you know, have their names inputted into when you sign up for someone's email list email list. so it'll say you'll get emails that say, dear, space, comma. so clearly, there's intended to be a name there, but because there's no name field, it just shows up as this this space. so i've been on the receiving end of that and i just find it very, like, it makes me chuckle a Speaker 0: little bit. Speaker 1: because i know i've done that too. right. um, forgetting to update the subject line, which we've all done. so you get you send an email and it goes, you know, new broadcast. that's the subject line. right. or or were you meant to update the the whatever your email marketing software uses to pull in the name and it says so then you get an email that says, dear in, like, brackets, first name goes here. Speaker 0: yes. exactly. yeah. Speaker 1: i and these things i always like. those i'm just like, oh, they made a tech error. i know i make tech errors. Speaker 0: so yeah. those are actually very forgivable. right? it's more the the strategy ones where yeah. like, the the example you you shared first is, like, the overwhelm and the manipulation. those those are the bigger i'm missing. yeah. and then often it's not their fault. it's just that they're following the wrong marketing person. they should follow you instead. Speaker 1: yeah. and this is why i always recommend and this actually goes into what we'll be talking about in the workshop is that i always recommend signing up for your own newsletter, freebie, lead magnet, whatever you wanna call it. i hate the act i actually personally do not like the word lead magnet because i think it dehumanizes this process if, you know yeah. i don't like to think of people on my email list as leads, and i'm magnetizing them on. like, they're people don't like it. yeah. actually, i don't like a lot of marketing jargon. but i always recommend signing up for your your your opt ins, your your freebies, and seeing what it's like so you because i think we there's so many moving parts that go into it that i think when you're done, you're, like, just so relieved. you're like, oh, i got that thing out there. but it's so important to test it up, test it out as someone going through that process who doesn't know you yet and seeing what happens because here's where you'll you'll uncover some some errors you made or you might realize like, oh, shoot. someone signs up for my thing and then immediately somehow i messed it up and now they got, like, three emails all at once, or i got three emails all at once. so that's why it's really important to really Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: take the time to check it all out. Speaker 0: and probably not just once, but, like, once a year because yeah. and i think that will be the benefit of go going through your workshop for all of us going back to, yeah, signing up to to our sequence again. i yeah. i have to say, i think probably last time i checked was last year to just go through all my emails again because i i don't just have, you know, seven. i have a whole bunch because then i added some other ones. and but, yeah, some of the stuff's probably outdated or links don't work. so, yeah, you didn't wanna oh, yeah. check them regularly. yeah. yeah. i Speaker 1: and i know i have to i really need to clean up the back end of mine so bad. i just you know, it's kind of a tedious process. but i think if i were to do it all over again, i'd probably just, like, make it a lot simpler. at one point, i tried to make it super complex, and i was like, this is my selling point. it's like to make these really complex automations. and i'm like, no. people want something simple and straightforward. and i'm honestly of the opinion, the simpler you can make it, the better. yeah. some of these email marketing softwares can let you do really fancy things with them. but then the more the, you know, the fancier and more complicated you make it, the more likely it it is for something to get messed up or to break if you add something new in or take something away. Speaker 0: i agree. and it just needs to be simple unless, again, you're running an e running an ecommerce site or or something like that. but yeah. a lot of i don't know about your clients, but a lot of listeners and my clients are coaches, consultants, and and, you know, they just want something that works, but it doesn't have to be this complicated funnel, and it shouldn't feel like a funnel anyway. it should just yeah. feel like a trust building sequence. exactly. yeah. Speaker 1: but, again, the whole the term funnel, another one of those words. i'm like, why? i just can't when i think of it, i just end up imagining, like, cattle mhmm. like, going down the slaughter. like, they're just being fed in this one direction, and you're like Speaker 0: horrible. yeah. yeah. movie is horrible. yeah. tell us more about the the workshop that we have coming up on april second. Speaker 1: yeah. so it's based on what i call the align framework. so align is an acronym, and it's really about the process that to look through when someone new signs up for your email list. so the first step is affirm consent. so we right off the bat, we're we're starting with consent. and so we're looking at things like, the, you know, do you link to your privacy statement? it's amazing to me how many people don't real don't have a privacy statement, which i think i imagine in europe, you're probably required. i think even in the us, you're supposed to have one. Speaker 0: or Speaker 1: at least certain states require it. so link into your privacy statement. if you're giving away a freebie, giving people the option to receive that freebie without being added to your to your email list. and this is particularly important if from and i'll put this little disclaimer out there that i'm not a lawyer, so don't take this as legal advice. but, you know, with gdpr, you have to be extra careful with that. and from my understanding of it, people have to be able to receive that thing, that freebie without being added to your email list. um, and then so that's, you know, thinking through these steps. and what's nice about this framework is it's tech agnostic. it's things that we should all be doing regardless of which email marketing software we use. and then from there, um, oh my gosh, i realized i like forgotten what the actual acronym stands for, but i'll just, like, go through the process because i think that's easier that we're looking at things like, oh, the second one is learn from questions. so your your opt in form can be a great opportunity to learn a little bit more about the people coming onto your email list and not in a, like, a creepy, stacker ish way, but really about thinking about it through that lens of empathy and how to make sure you're giving people the information that they actually need. so, for example, i ask when people sign up for my email list, which email marketing software do you use? and if people say nothing, i actually send them a different welcome sequence because a lot of what i talk about is not gonna it's gonna be kind of a little too high level. mhmm. so it it kind of helps them think through, for example, do you actually need a newsletter for your business? um, that one i actually invite people to reply and i'm realizing as i'm talking this through, i'm like, i don't think anyone's replying to that email. so maybe it's time to revisit that welcome sequence. Speaker 0: right. and and just ask a question with a one word answer. i'm sure that one will work better. yeah. yeah. Speaker 1: um, and then the other steps are thinking through, um, you know, what ex oh, what expectations are you setting for people. so, you know, if someone signs up for your email list, making sure that they know what to do next. like, they should you know, inviting people or recommending that people go to your their inbox and check for this email and telling them, you know, what is the subject line of that email and also thanking them. and then in that first email, really setting some expectations. like, you're gonna receive this many emails from me over this many days, or i send an email out, like, at this frequency. so you want people to know right off the bat, the bat, especially if you do have some sort of nurturing welcome sequence when people first sign up that's at a more frequent cadence than what you normally sent. yeah. because especially if you're marketing to to consumers, they don't know how this all works necessarily. and if you sign up for someone's email list and you're suddenly getting an email a day, you're like, well, this isn't what i signed up for. but if people know right off the bat, you'll get an email a day. and then from after that, you'll hear from me about once a week. you know, it's in recognizing people meaning Speaker 0: people transparency. right? Speaker 1: yes. yeah. it's i'm all about how can we be as transparent as possible through this process. because i think a lot of times in marketing, we've almost been taught with this whole life system is that you don't wanna be transparent. mhmm. would you Speaker 0: have to be sneaky? you know? yeah. Speaker 1: which is like, why if you need to be sneaky to sells sell something, i feel like that should send us be sending off some little warning signals there. Speaker 0: yeah. and and it can't it can't attract the right clients. right? if yeah. if from the get go, they they buy into something sneaky, that yeah. it just can't be a good thing. no. yeah. yeah. exactly. and then Speaker 1: the last step is nurturing. so i do recommend that most people have some sort of welcome sequence. i think there are some instances where it does you know, you might not. and this is, again, where it goes into, you know, recognizing that there is no one size fits all approach to any of this. so even though for most people, i'm gonna recommend you should have some sort of welcome sequence sequence. if you are, for example, marketing to, like like, presidents and corporations or, like, high you know, c what we call in the us, c suite executives, a welcome sequence would probably be a little odd. yeah. so i wouldn't necessarily recommend it to them. right. but but for the vast majority of us, i think it can be beneficial to have something to at least welcome people into your space. Speaker 0: yeah. amazing. i can't wait for further yeah. rolling back our sleeves and actually getting getting to work and having you guide us. so yeah. wonderful. yeah. that workshop is on april second. and if you wanna sign up and join us in the humane marketing circle, that's at humane dot marketing forward slash workshop. we just ask for a little donation to join us in the community, and, uh, yeah, bev will be there with us live. so exciting. why don't you share also, bev, where people can find you if they want to find out more about your work and maybe see you walk your talk by signing up to your yeah. rep. Speaker 1: yeah. so the best way i recommend is to go to your personal tech personal tech fairy dot com forward slash newsletter. and there's where i talk a little bit more about my approach to email marketing. and you can see what i just talked about, how you can sign up for my email list. and there's, like, gonna be that question i just i just mentioned. so and you'll you can kinda see how it plays out depending on what you choose. because i will say that, you know, if you choose kit versus a different email marketing software versus nothing, you'll you actually get slightly different emails sent to your inbox. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. wonderful. well, i look forward to our collaboration and, uh likewise. thanks so much for being on the show today. Speaker 1: well, thank you for having me, sarah. Speaker 0: i hope you got some great value from listening to this episode. as always, find out more about bev and sign up for her newsletter to see her walker talk at your personal tech fairy dot com forward slash newsletter. and if you're looking for others who think like you, then why not join us in the humane marketing circle? you can find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash circle to join the community, or just join us for this workshop with bev at humane dot marketing forward slash workshop. you find the show notes of this episode at humane dot marketing forward slash h m two zero six, um two zero six. and on this beautiful page, you'll also find a series of free offers such as the humane business manifesto, as well as my two books, marketing like we're human and selling like we're human, and soon also my third book, business like we're human. thanks so much for listening and being part of a generation of marketers who cares for yourself, your clients, and the planet. we are change makers before we are marketers. so please go be the change you want to see in the world. speak Speaker 1: soon.

4/1/25 • 46:16

In this episode of the Humane Marketing podcast, I'm joined by Myriam Martinez to explore the transformative power of creativity in business. We dive into how art and creative expression help us move beyond overthinking, cultivate self-trust, and create spaciousness in our work. Myriam shares how partnering with creativity can bring more clarity, embodiment, and authenticity to both business and life. We also discuss the "Wild Woman" archetype, reframing marketing as self-expression, and the role of right-brain thinking in shaping a more humane, sustainable future. If you're a conscious entrepreneur looking to infuse more flow, intuition, and artistry into your business, this episode is for you! In this episode, talked about: How art and creativity serve as partners in self-expression and emotional well-being. The connection between embodiment and artistic expression. How engaging with creativity helps shift from overthinking to a more relaxed state. The parallels between childhood creativity and freeing our thinking as adults. The importance of spaciousness in business and how creativity fits into that. Using artistic expression as a tool for healing, self-discovery, and business clarity. How to reframe marketing as an expression of self rather than a task. The "Wild Woman" archetype and its connection to creativity and self-trust. The role of right-brain thinking in shaping a more humane, sustainable future. Practical ways to start incorporating creativity into daily life and business. -- Speaker 0: hey, miriam. so good to hang out with you on the podcast. first time. yay. i'm Speaker 1: so happy to be here, sarah. Speaker 0: we made it happen, finally. yeah. Speaker 1: yes. Speaker 0: yeah. really looking forward to talking about partnering with creativity. that's what i called this episode. uh, it's the p of partnership. and, yeah, let's talk about partnering with creativity. i think, you know, you are the best person to dive into this topic, and we just kind of talked a little bit before hitting record it. this how much creativity and art brings us, especially in the times that we're living right now. Speaker 1: right. Speaker 0: so let's start there. how how do you feel about art, and what do you see with your clients? uh, what what it does for them? Speaker 1: well, we were talking a little bit before coming on about the state of of the world, so to speak. right? um, and i mentioned that art making for me especially has been such a resource. right? Speaker 0: right. Speaker 1: and the way that i see creativity as a partner, right, and as a support system is that it allows you to express things that you might not either be totally aware need to be expressed. right? mhmm. or that may be hard to express on a verbal level. so it helps you access things that, you know, you may not have any connection to. and once it's on the art piece, then that's when the insight comes or the awareness comes or, you know, new information comes. and often, you experience a lot of relief and release at the same time Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: depending on the kind of art making that you're you're into. Speaker 0: so it's kind of the subconscious coming into, yeah, the paper or the terracotta or whatever, the papier mache, whatever you're using. uh, it kind of expresses itself in that form. is that what you're saying? Speaker 1: yes. exactly. exactly. and, you know, for for me and the work that i do, i what i notice with clients is and in myself, you know, i think it's part of the human condition, so to speak, is that we get in our heads a lot. you know, we do a lot of thinking. Speaker 0: say that again. Speaker 1: yeah. a lot of thinking, a lot of analyzing. you know, we go in circles in our head. and when that happens, we're really disconnected from ourselves and our emotional state and what's happening inside our body. and for me, the way that i see it is like, well, that's where our wisdom is. you know? it's in our body. it's not it's not in our head. you know, we're we're feeling beings, not thinking beings. so if we get too caught up in our head, that often creates more stress. right? we become more agitated, so that affects our not only our mental health, but our physical health. and we can't think as clearly, and it can just more easily become too much, and we get to feel really stuck. right? so when we can get out of our head and into our body a little more, and that's what the art and creative experience does for you, then you can, you know, kinda lower your blood pressure. right? breathe a little easier. there's, like, a physiological transformation that happens when you engage with art, you know, from neurotransmitters being released, you know, your body moving into more relaxation, and clarity often comes from that experience. Speaker 0: that's so funny. i have never made that, yeah, that relation between embodiment and art. but, yeah, it makes so much sense. you're using your hands or or, you know, yeah, mainly your hands and your arms probably. mhmm. but but what you're saying, it's more than that. it's just like you kinda turn off the thinking and just let the feeling come out into the art and the creativity. Speaker 1: right. yeah. yeah. because, again, if we're if we're too overly stressed, you know, and just thinking in loops, which we can all get into, then we're not gonna be able to make great decisions. you know, it really impacts our decision making, our ability to visualize something different for ourselves. you know? and, again, we get to feel really stuck. but once we get out of that part of our brain, you know, and into the more sensory brain, then our body transforms immediately. you know, oftentimes when i'm working with clients, even if we're just doing, you know, some silly doodling, you know, something like that, you know, they immediately feel the relief. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: i mean, i've i've stood in front of a crowd of, you know, over two hundred and fifty people and had them doodle. and almost every person, you know, had a transformative experience, and many people often give me the same feedback, which is like, oh, i feel so much more relaxed. i feel so much calmer. i feel like i have more clarity. it's like, yeah. of course. because when we're in that fight or flight mode, we're not gonna be able to think clearly. it's just physiological fact. right? yeah. but we need to be able to get out of that, and art and creativity is a wonderful resource and tool for that. Speaker 0: i wonder if it also brings us back into our, you know, inner child or, like, the the the actual child stage of our lives where we're just like, oh, you know, there's no agenda. there's no time. there's no it's like, oh, this is just me and my pencils, and i have all the time in the world to to do that. Speaker 1: that's right. there's no thinking. Speaker 0: there's no thinking. no. or or there's thinking, but flow thinking. you know? just like, oh, this happened and this happened, but not, like, cognitive structured thinking like we would right. do for our business. yeah. Speaker 1: right. exactly. and, you know, it's interesting that you talk about that, you know, like, the cognitive structuring. and i think that that's a lot of the way that we trap ourselves, you know, because we have, a, often unrealistic expectations of ourselves. right? but we're also want everything, like, perfectly planned out or to know what's coming and, you know, gives us a lot of anxiety to sit in the unknown. and so when you have a creative practice, you get to exercise moving through those challenging emotions. right? so if you if i put a piece of blank paper in front of someone and their blood pressure goes up, right, because immediately their thinking brain is saying, but i don't know what to do, and i'm not good at it, and what's gonna happen, and what if i mess it up? and, you know, these are all things that we say to ourselves every day, you know, throughout our day with different things. so once they engage with the process without any thought, right, like, just let the paint flow or let the marker move wherever it wants to move, then we get to exercise that muscle of learning to do that. right. Speaker 0: yeah. and and it's again, what comes to mind is school. right? and we don't really learn creativity or creative art, uh, at school. we learn cognitive art, maybe, you know, where it's like maybe. all there within the lines and you have to construct exactly the example of the teacher. like, that's not create creativity. right? that's just like i don't know why you call that. mimicking. exactly. Speaker 1: it's mimicking. right? so there's no independent thought around that, which is really interesting, right, versus a younger child. i taught preschool for many years, you know, which is like the three to five year old range. and what i remember about that age group is that there really was no thought. it it was all intuitive. Speaker 0: right. Speaker 1: i the painting is attracting me. right? and so i'm gonna go to the easel, and i'm gonna put paint on the paper. there there was no thinking around that. you know? it was all really intuitive. and when i think about a a childlike state, i think about free flow, and i think about curiosity. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: right? how children are often in a constant state of curiosity. like, i wonder what that is and how does that work and let me touch it and let me smell it and, you know, all these kinds of things, you know, really connecting with your sensory being. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. that's so good. i was just thinking about my my mandala and the seven p's. right? yes. and and how, yeah, i really wanted to combine the the framework with the creativity and with the coloring and not like, also with self reflection. so while the idea, at least for the seven piece of humane marketing with the mandala, is that while you're coloring, you're kind of, like, free flow thinking about these different areas of your business. because you're using your body and your creativity, it doesn't feel so heavy. Speaker 1: that's right. Speaker 0: does that make sense at all? Speaker 1: no. absolutely. because, again, it's it's i think what people don't often understand and is undervalued is the physiological, the tran transformation that occurs, you know, when you start engaging with art making or creativity. so coloring into, you know, your mandala workbook, so to speak, right, that is gonna immediately activate the right brain, and it's gonna release those neurotransmitters that are very calming, you know, like dopamine and serotonin and oxytocin. right? and so that physiologically changes your body and makes it easier for you to be able to think clearly. that's right. it it doesn't feel as heavy. but when we sit in, like, left brain stuff, you know, like, the way that typical business planning goes is, you know, goals and it's very masculine. right? structure. you know? what am i gonna accomplish? what what am i gonna produce? you know? and that puts, like, a lot of pressure. even as i'm speaking that, i can feel that my body is getting tighter just talking about it. right? Speaker 0: it's a linear process that Speaker 1: yes. Speaker 0: i feel like, oh, this. Speaker 1: a lot of pressure. yes. it's a lot of pressure. and then we, you know, then we can move into our perfectionism stuff that it has to be a certain way and or fear of making a mistake. you know? and, again, notice the parallel between that experience and the art making experience where we can have the exact same sensations and thoughts. what if i mess it up? what if i don't do it right? you know? i was recently at a at a women's conference, and it's a pretty large conference. it was about fifty five hundred women there. and i had a booth where i was inviting people to come doodle with me. right? and what i kept really being fascinated by was how many people would either say, oh, no. no. i i don't know how, which is like but it's doodling. Speaker 0: i didn't i didn't ask you to draw Speaker 1: my list. like, you know, like a lifelike image of something. you know? it's just, you know, scribbling around on a piece of paper, or i would hear something like, well, i don't know. i'm not really good at that, or i don't know if i can. you know? and as i was, you know, guiding the women there, you know, explaining what i'm explaining to you, like, hey. you know, right now you're just in your head, and this is gonna help you get out of there and start flowing. you know, some of the women were like, i can't believe how much i'm in my head. i literally can't get started. right? it was like, wow. this is amazing. Speaker 0: thinking, oh, how do i start this? Speaker 1: yeah. is there a right way? is there a wrong way? what again, the the same thoughts that we often have, you know, as we're moving through our business and in life. right? what if i get it wrong? what if i mess it up? what if it's what will people think? you know? all these kinds of things. and when they would engage with it, every single time, it was the reporting back was, wow. i feel so much different. and i'm gonna work on this because i can see that i'm spending too much time in my thinking brain. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. so good. in in my upcoming book, business like we're human, i talk about this concept of spaciousness and how if we healed our relationship to work and kind of, like, created because in the industrial revolution, we created this myth that we are basically working bees. right? it's like we work every day, nine to five, well, at least weekdays. and that's how we define ourselves as human is by our job title very often. and and there was no spaciousness. people, you know, run around with the busyness badge, and and, of course, they don't doodle. you know? of course, they don't have time to to doodle. right. and so, basically, what i'm hearing is the reason why people don't make time to doodle is because they don't create spaciousness in their calendar, and they feel like the their definition of success, they only get there if they work, work, work, work, work. right? mhmm. and so even doodling feels like a waste of time. i'm wasting my time. right? mhmm. Speaker 1: yeah. and it's a little bit too, like, how art and creativity is perceived. right? there's often this misconception that, you know, a, it's for kids. yeah. right? and two, there's just no value to it. like, what what is the point? you know? if you can't draw something lifelike, then what would be the point of doing that? and so my message is, you know, let me explain to you what happens to your brain and your body and how that transforms and how that creates spaciousness in your mind, right, in your heart, in your body, and that how that then translates out, you know, into the work that you're doing. and, you know, i love that you're talking about, like, your relationship with your business because when i work with clients around their business, creating imagery about your business is actually extremely powerful. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: right? because now you are in a relationship with it if you externalize it in that way. so whatever, you know, image comes to mind when you think about your business, how how would you want to imagine it, right mhmm. Speaker 0: mhmm. Speaker 1: as an image. and it changes because, again, our our business exists in our head or in how much money we're making or how many clients we have or, you know, etcetera. but when it's this physical, tangible thing that you can look at and touch, now you can have a relationship with your business. Speaker 0: yeah. that's interesting. i think of of it maybe like, i would probably draw myself if i, you know, thought thought about my business because to me, it's really just an extension of myself nowadays. hasn't always been like that. but nowadays, i just feel like if i think about business like we're human, it's just an extension with myself of myself. and so i guess what i would would be working with in this drawing is, oh, what's my relationship with myself? right? because if i am my business and it's an extension of myself, well, then what's my relationship with myself? and, yeah, you can you can get into really fascinating conversations right there. Speaker 1: exactly. exactly. and if if, you know, if you make it a regular practice Speaker 0: right. Speaker 1: you know, to check-in with with yourself and your business in that way, you know, again, there's just a deeper connection. it's not so surface or, um, task oriented. Speaker 0: right. yeah. yeah. so tell me about some other tools you're using with your with your clients. like, what what do you help? there's another, uh, line that, um, you know, i got from your website. you help, um, you help women rediscover their wild. mhmm. yes. that also, of course, what it makes me think of is yeah. well, in relation with you, like, lots of colors and and just, like, yeah, this creative artist. right? that's what it makes me think. Speaker 1: vibrancy. vibrancy is the word that comes up for me. well, the the concept of the wild woman, you know, it's related to an archetype by, um, doctor clarissa estes pintoz, and she's an author, and she talked about the wild woman archetype. and what the acronym that i came up with around the wild woman is, um, w stands for waking up to your life. so to me, that means taking responsibility for yourself. right? no one's gonna come in and rescue you. you have to do the work. right? and then the i is for ignite your inner knowing, and that's where the creativity comes in. like, there's wisdom inside you. you don't need to constantly look for it outside of yourself because that's something that i notice with women, know, as they're constantly looking for external validation or, oh, i need i need a coach for this. i need a, you know, a teacher for that. and it's like, well, sometimes that is really helpful, and other times, you're just not trusting yourself. so the creativity, you know, is something that connects you to your inner wise woman. mhmm. right? and helps you build that confidence to keep going. right. Speaker 0: and then Speaker 1: the the l is for love yourself fiercely, which is a huge element. like, that needs to be our baseline, you know, for living is learning to love ourselves like we do other people. you know? so i often invite my clients to think about someone that they deeply care about, somebody that means a lot to them, right, and how that feels, you know, when they think about that person, how they feel about that person, and what needs to happen to then turn that same kind of loving energy, you know, towards themselves. because we tend to be so hard on ourselves. right? so learning to be self compassionate and and be loving and kind to yourself is a huge part of business success. right? and then the d is to dare to be unapologetically you. like, you're the only person that you can be. right? but oftentimes, there's so much comparison that's going on. like, oh, wow. look at sarah. she's she's doing a lot because, you know, look at this class or this post that she put up, and so i i gotta be like sarah. you know? and it's like, no. like, i can't be like sarah because i'm me. right? i can i can have sarah inspire me? right? like, that's okay. right? but we're constantly doing this comparison. it's like, well, you you can only be yourself, and you have to learn to live with who you are. right? live with yourself. and when all those aspects are addressed, then that makes being being in life more feel more successful, but definitely in your business. right? because, again, in business, we go up and we go down, up and down and backwards and forwards, right, and sideways. and that can really impact, you know, our mental our mental state, you know, how we see ourselves, how we think about ourselves. but if we can always go back to, i'm okay. i'm a worthy person. right? and be kind to yourself as you move through all of that, then you can keep moving forward with a lot more ease. otherwise, again, we we'll just get stuck in that. Speaker 0: yeah. exactly. you just look for the exterior confirmation that you are good enough where it's all inside of us. right? but you need you Speaker 1: need to Speaker 0: find it. yeah. this acronym would have fit really nicely also with marketing because everything you shared applies to to marketing as well. right? so so, yeah, tell us a little bit about your marketing story because you attended the marketing, like, where human program back in can't remember when, but a while ago. Speaker 1: yes. Speaker 0: and then i just watched you bloom and, like, be yourself and bring all that creativity into your marketing. so was that yeah. just share a little bit. like because i remember in the beginning, you you you thought it was hard because marketing to you just seemed like this thing that we have to do a certain way. right? Speaker 1: mhmm. it felt like a task. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. Speaker 1: right? and i think that that's probably been the biggest transformation is that i see it more as an expression. right. now. right? before it was like, well, you know, you you have to do this. you have to have a website, and you have to post. and, you know, and if i i don't function that well as a highly sensitive person, it's like that that didn't feel good to me, you know, in my body. like, that's not how i wanna approach my business. i don't want it to feel like a task. right. right? and so there were oftentimes when i felt like i was doing stuff just for the sake of doing it. mhmm. you know? mhmm. and that didn't feel good. it didn't feel authentic. you know? it didn't feel right for me and my body. so once i started thinking about marketing and, again, creating, you know, imagery around marketing, around my business, how do i wanna be in it, you know, that kind of a thing, i started to really think about it more as an expression of myself. yeah. right? and how do i wanna express myself in the world? Speaker 0: you should do a post, like, before and after. you know? because i remember i remember your your post from before where it's like, oh, yeah. this is this is a marketing post, right, where you basically and, like, everybody does, like i did too. it's like, oh, you have to create this certain marketing post. you get a canva template, and here you go. here's my message. right? and then, you know, the after is now, like, you doodling or your latest art project or yeah. it just really feels like, oh, there is miriam. she's being herself. right? Speaker 1: exactly. it feels much more connected and much more authentic. Speaker 0: yeah. of course, people who are listening, uh, might be thinking, oh, yeah. of course, you know, she is, uh, you know, a creative and an art therapist and and working with women like that. but what i always say is, like, bring more of you. so maybe you're doing like, i just shared with you. i'm i'm i signed up for a pottery class. like, is not part of my business. i'm not a pottery teacher, but it make a really fun post, you know, to share about this pottery class. and so it doesn't always have to be business oriented what we're sharing, and and that creativity can really come into our marketing as well. Speaker 1: no. i agree. and, you know, just on a little side note because i think that, you know, people look at me and think, you know, well, she's a creative. creative. so you know? and, again, that's really kind of a put down towards themselves. you know? but i'm not. Speaker 0: right? yeah. Speaker 1: and so my backstory is that i didn't go into the field of art therapy because i i was an artist. i never practiced art. i worked with kids, and i wanted to continue to work with kids in a therapeutic way. and i thought, well, that's their language. it's art. right? and so art therapy seems like a really good fit. but the biggest transformation for me was that, you know, in my arrogance at the time, you know, over twenty years ago now when they, you know, invited me into the master's program, but also said, yes. but you need twelve units of art. you know? i was slightly offended. you know? because i thought, well, why do i need to do that? like, i'm just helping other people, which, you know, i always reflect back on that and think, wow. where was i in my journey that i couldn't even consider, right, that that would be for me? and so the gift came from learning to use art in as a tool for healing and wellness and and self development. i didn't go to art classes to learn how to draw a specific thing or technique, or that isn't how i learned to make art. you know? and so even my my personal development as an artist, right, like, i'm still working on really owning that title, right, because of all of the conditioning around art. Speaker 0: right. yeah. Speaker 1: right? well, you didn't you don't have an mfa or you can't draw lifelike things, and it's like, right. but none of that has anything to do with anything. from my perspective, we're all artists. we all have the ability to create and express because that's really all it is. right? and i heard, um, i heard a term recently, a little saying that said, um, expression is the opposite of depression. right? and i was like, oh. that's yes. yes. right? because depression is often we're holding emotion. you know, our body's kind of saturated, you know, with unprocessed emotion. but if you use the art process to express, then things get lighter, you know, in your body. so for anybody out there who doesn't think they're a creative, you know, or an artist, i i'm here to tell you, yes. you are. right? you just have to allow yourself to explore and experiment. and like i said before, be curious. and just see what happens. you know? if you put some paint on a piece of paper, let's see what happens. Speaker 0: yeah. and it it really is like, art has this, yeah, connotation of, like, you need to study it and and all of that. but creativity is a different term to me. it's like, yeah, you can be creative for two minutes. right? it doesn't take a lot of time. it doesn't take studying. it doesn't take anything. it doesn't take, like, all these special tools. like, you talk about doodling. you can just take your pencil to doodle. you don't even need colored pencils or anything else. Speaker 1: you don't need anything fancy. and it's it's good to actually differentiate between creativity and artistic expression. right? because creativity, its baseline definition is problem solving. Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: that's all it is. creativity is problem solving, thinking outside the box, you know, coming up with new ideas. it's like, well, you do that every day, all day long. every single human does that every day. right? but artistic expression, right, is using a medium to express those ideas. mhmm. Speaker 0: yeah. Speaker 1: that's the difference. right? so creativity, you know, again, it gets kinda interlaced with artistic expression. but when you think about it, you know, in those in that bare bones definition, no. it's just imagination. it's just thinking about a new idea. it's just problem solving. right? it's like, oh, well, i do that. that's what most people will say. you know, it's like, right. exactly. so you are therefore creative. Speaker 0: right. but does that mean like, i like the artistic expression because maybe that means that we're putting it out there rather than because you can be creative in your head. right? mhmm. where we wanna get out of our heads, and so maybe the expression is Speaker 1: it's the expression. that's right. Speaker 0: is needed. Speaker 1: yeah. yeah. absolutely. because at some point, you know, as you're problem solving through something or if you get a new idea, you're gonna have, like, uh-huh. and and you're gonna execute something. Speaker 0: mhmm. yeah. Speaker 1: you know? who knows what that will be, but something's going to happen from that. and so artistic expression is just, i think, setting more intention and more consciousness around that expression. Speaker 0: right. yeah. yeah. it's beautiful. so what would you say to people who are listening who are kinda like these women that you met at the stand? it's like, oh, i don't know where to start or i can't do it. like, yeah, what's an easy first step? Speaker 1: well, an easy first step is to grab a piece of paper. and like you said, it doesn't have to be like, the writing tool doesn't have to be anything fancy. it could be just a regular old pencil or pen. you know? um, if you wanna have a little bit more play, you can add some color to that. right? and just move it around the page. that's it. right? Speaker 0: it's so simple. Speaker 1: i know. we live in a world where there's either straight lines or curved lines. right? it's that simple. and so to move the pen or pencil around in whatever way it wants to move, you know? up, down, straight across, wiggly, spirally. it doesn't matter. right? and one of the things that people will notice if they engage in that practice is that the head was gonna turn on. right? it's gonna say, i don't know. i don't know. or this is dumb. or what am i doing? you know? all of these things that, you know, go through our head. and slowly, that voice will start to quiet. right? because the other part of the brain is gonna start to get activated, and you're gonna start to notice, you know, how that feels differently. so it's it's really quite simple. right? it doesn't have to be overcomplicated at all. no one's asking you to pull out a water palette or get a canvas out or, you know, even take a pottery class like you're saying. you know? it's like, no. you don't have to do anything like that. it would be really fun if you did, but it doesn't have to be that complicated. it's just moving stuff around. and i had i had somebody say that she she called herself now a born again doodler because she and so many people will say that, well, i remember i would get in trouble for doodling, though, right, when i was a kid. i'm like, i know. that's because there's a misconception, you know, around doodling and how powerful it is, you know, and what's happening in your brain around it and how actually for a lot of people, it helps you retain more information. Speaker 0: right. Speaker 1: if you're doodling, like, at a meeting or during a workshop or, you know, something like that. yeah. like, it's actually gonna help you. Speaker 0: yeah. i should have done that while we were talking. i should have you know? and then i could have held it. yeah. we need to record it again. Speaker 1: a quick mini activity. yeah. there's still time, sarah. Speaker 0: yeah. so definitely just just try it out. and and and i like how you say, you know, start to notice the left brain. first, they will want to rebel and say, this is just stupid. why are doing this? and then it switches over to the right brain, and it's just, like, calming down. Speaker 1: you start to feel the flow in your body. you kinda start to let go a little bit. you know? and, again, it's such a great practice to manage some of the thoughts that can come in and interfere. you know? so as i'm moving somebody through the process, you know, the inner critic is gonna wanna come in and say, oh, that's not a very good flower, or that was oh, that doesn't look like x, y, or z. and, you know, my job is to say, do notice that. Speaker 0: right. Speaker 1: notice how the critic wants to come in. right? and how can we manage that? and, again, this is just a muscle building around managing that voice. Speaker 0: yeah. so you're basically helping women tap into that right brain and creative power so that it then, yeah, i guess, helps them with their business in order to keep going. like you said before, it's like, well, you know, we need that resilience. and where do we get resilience is going inwards and using tools like, uh, artistic expression. Speaker 1: exactly. because some of the, you know, the main obstacles, you know, that women encounter in business are things like perfectionism, you know, having too high of an expectation, you know, having the inner critic constantly be, you know, in your ear, you know, things like that. and there's not a lot that we can do about the inner critic, like, in terms of, like, that's just part of the human condition. you know, it has a purpose, believe it or not, but it doesn't have to dominate. right. it it it definitely won't be helpful if it's in charge, right, running the show. so every time that you engage in a creative practice, you know, and make a little doodle, make some art in some way, and that voice comes up, like, the more you move through that, the better you get at addressing that in everyday life. Speaker 0: mhmm. yeah. beautiful. Speaker 1: it's empowering. Speaker 0: it really is. and it reminds me of this the the book, um, and the quote where, um, it says the right right brainers will rule the world, i think. and it and it really you know, it really i really feel like this is the paradigm we're shifting to. we can't we like, look where we're at. we have all this left brain power, and yet we're we can't solve the planet's problem. no. so we need to start imagining new ideas. and what does that need? creativity. right? exactly. to think outside the the box. well, yeah, we need more art. yeah. and i think Speaker 1: that's a that's a good point. you know? i mean, we we have and continue to operate so much in that left brain and kind of masculine energy. and my observation, you know, in the work that i do is that people are really stressed out. yeah. horrible. the stress is higher than ever. you know? and it's like, how's that working? honestly, like, be honest with yourself. how's it really working for you to exist constantly in that left brain kind of masculine space of doing and producing and trying to be perfect and, you know, doing things a certain way or the quote, unquote, the right way, you know, etcetera. it's like, you know, if you really check-in with your body, you're probably really stressed. yeah. and that's not Speaker 0: it's pretty often they're so stressed. they don't even know what it's like anymore to not be stressed. Speaker 1: yes. Speaker 0: so the body forgot what it's like to be calm. and and probably at the beginning, it can be stressful to do these doodlings because it's so calm. right? it's like, my god. this is so yeah. this feels weird. Speaker 1: even know what to do. Speaker 0: yeah. so, yeah, we need we need you. we need your help in this transition. that's that's for sure. Speaker 1: yeah. it's a really powerful tool that's often underestimated. Speaker 0: and it's you know, it can be free. i mean, like, look. we all have, you know, pencils. Speaker 1: we all have a pen and pencil. yeah. exactly. yeah. yeah. it does not have to be fancy. Speaker 0: beautiful. alright. but do please share with people where they can find out how to work with you if they need some help in in this transition. Speaker 1: yeah. if they're looking for an alternative way. yeah. work. right? because, you know, what i noticed in the in the coaching business is that there's a lot of focus and emphasis on mindset work, you know, which is great. you know, mindset's really important. but unless you get your body to buy in, it's gonna be really hard to make that shift. right? so mhmm. the whole body approach is really important. and people can find me, you know, on on the web and at my website, mary martinez coaching dot com. i'm also on linkedin and instagram. people wanna look for me there. right? but oftentimes, the people that come to me are are looking for an alternative way. they've done a lot of, you know, kind of left brain work, goal setting. Speaker 0: yeah. it's like they're they're like, i've tried everything. i need something else. Speaker 1: yeah. i'm looking for something else. yeah. i'm looking for a more expansive way, you know, i would say to exist in general, not just to, you know, improve my business, you know, or anything like that, but just a way of being. Speaker 0: yeah. that's beautiful. kinda similar with humane marketing. you know? it's like, i tried everything. i want something different. Speaker 1: that's right. yeah. and i just why you and i are connected. Speaker 0: exactly. yeah. and i just grabbed, uh, your card on my desk, and i don't know if i ever told you. you know the the peace symbol? yes. yes. yes. did i tell you that the business like we're human book is based on this peace symbol? no. oh, i forgot to tell you that. yeah. i was like, oh, i need you know how i had the mandala for the marketing for human book? and so i'm like, i need a new visual, right, for for this third book. and i looked at your your card. i'm like, that's it. we need inner peace so that we can bring outer change. and so that's what the business like we're human book is based on is your picture that you sent me. Speaker 1: oh my gosh. that's so exciting. right? Speaker 0: yeah. so, yeah, peace peace sign. more peace and more creativity and art. that's what Speaker 1: right. and bringing out onto the world. otherwise, we're just producing. Speaker 0: yeah. yeah. yeah. we're just producing. yeah. that's powerful. mhmm. well, thanks so much for this wonderful conversation, miriam. really enjoyed it. Speaker 1: yeah. thank you too, sarah.

3/13/25 • 46:32

In this new episode entitled Attract Conscious Clients with Your Website, we welcome Uta Demontis, an branding and web design expert for conscious customer attraction. Uta shares invaluable insights on how to create a digital presence that resonates with discerning, values-driven clients. From authentic storytelling techniques to essential website maintenance practices, this conversation covers practical strategies for conscious entrepreneurs looking to align their online presence with their mission. Whether you're refining your existing site or building from scratch, Uta's guidance will help you craft a website that not only attracts your ideal clients but also reflects your deepest values and commitment to positive impact. In this episode, we discussed: What conscious consumers really look for when they land on your website and how they think differently from traditional customers Ways to showcase your values and mission authentically online without coming across as preachy or fake Real examples of websites that nail it with conscious consumers and what makes them so special How to tell your impact story in a way that genuinely connects with conscious clients (and doesn't put them to sleep) The key info conscious consumers dig for when researching your business and how to make it easy to find Why site speed matters more than you might think when it comes to showing you care about user experience Essential website maintenance tasks you shouldn't ignore if you want to keep things running smoothly Common website mistakes that could be scaring away conscious clients (even if your business is perfect for them) If after listening to this episode you'd love to implement then please join us in our community for this new Collab Workshop on March 5th. You can sign up for a small donation at humane.marketing/workshop --- Speaker 1: hello, humane marketers. welcome back to the humane marketing podcast. the place to be for the generation that cares. this is a show where we talk about running your business in a way that feels good to you, is aligned with your values, and also resonates with today's conscious customers because it's humane, ethical, and non pushy. i'm sarah senecroce, your hippie turned conscious business coach for quietly rebellious entrepreneurs and change makers, mama bear of the humane marketing circle, and renegade author of marketing like we're human, selling like we're human, and soon also my third book, business like we're human. if after listening to the show for a while, you're ready to move on to the next level and start implementing and would welcome a community of like minded, quietly rebellious entrepreneurs who discuss with transparency what works and what doesn't work in business, then we'd love to welcome you in our humane marketing circle. if you're picturing your typical facebook group, let me paint a new picture for you. this is a closed community of like minded entrepreneurs from all over the world who come together in two meetups per month to hold each other accountable and build their business in a conscious and sustainable way. we all share with transparency and vulnerability what works and what doesn't work in our business so that you can figure out what works for you, instead of keep throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash circle. twice per year, i host my signature program, the marketing like we're human, aka the client resonator program live. in a deep dive into the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala, you will learn to market from within. this program is for you if you want and need to get more clients, but want to share your message in an ethical and humane way. if you want to make a difference with your work. if you are just starting out, or if you have been in business for a while, but haven't really found the marketing activities that work for you. or also, if you are pivoting your business from business as usual to your life's work and want to radically change the way you get clients. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash program. and finally, if you prefer one on one support from me, my humane business coaching could be just what you need, whether it's for your marketing, sales, general business building, or help with your big idea like writing a book. i'd love to share my brain and my heart with you together with my almost twenty years business experience and help you grow a sustainable business that is joyful and sustainable. if you love this podcast, wait until i show you my mama bear qualities as my one on one client. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash coaching. Speaker 2: hello, friends. welcome back to the humane marketing podcast. today's conversation fits best under the p of product and promotion as well as people because we talk about your website and how it can attract conscious clients. if you're a regular here, you know that i'm organizing the conversations around the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala. and if you're new here and don't know what i'm talking about, you can download your one page marketing plan with the humane marketing version of the seven p's of marketing at humane dot marketing forward slash one page. that's the number one and the word page. and it comes with seven email prompts to really help you reflect on these different pieces for your business. so it's not prescriptive but reflective. today, i'm talking to jutta demontis, an austrian based in england. jutta is a web designer and specializing in creating effective wordpress websites for coaches, solopreneurs, and small businesses. she designs websites that are strategically crafted to serve as powerful marketing tools that attract clients and drive business growth. ootah is passionate about helping small businesses and solopreneurs thrive in the digital world, providing them with the support they need to succeed online. in this episode, we discussed what conscious consumers really look for when they land on your website, and how they think differently from traditional customers. ways to showcase your values and mission authentically without coming across as preachy or fake. how to tell your story in a way that genuinely connects with conscious clients and doesn't put them asleep. but also how to create a sustainability page, for example, where you tell your story and your connection to sustainability. the key info conscious consumers dig for when researching your business and how to make it easy to find. why site speed matters more than you might think when it comes to showing that you care about your user experience. essential website maintenance tasks you shouldn't ignore if you want to keep things running smoothly. and then also common website mistakes that could be scaring away conscious clients. if after listening to this episode you'd love to implement, then please join us in our community for this new collab workshop on march fifth. you can sign up for a small donation at humane dot marketing forward slash workshop. so let's dive in. Sarah: Uta how are you today? Uta: hi, sarah. yes. i'm very well. thank you. Sarah: so good to have you on the humane marketing podcast. welcome. Uta: great. thank you. Sarah: super excited, also to have you in the community to talk to us about this topic of website care and maintenance for conscious business owners. so looking forward to march fifth. but before, let's have a conversation about this topic, which i think is very relevant. and, it combines like we said, we it combines kinda two topics. on one hand, it's focused on the business owner, because we're talking about the maintenance and the care that goes into a website. but then it also, concerns the the the conscious client because that's the person who visits our website. so maybe let's start with the with the conscious client. like, if you think about a a a website, what do you feel today that are the main key elements that a conscious client, looks for when landing on a website? like, what are they paying attention to? Uta: yes. so conscious clients, of course, it depends whether it's a service or a product. so, you know, they're slightly different. but generally, in addition to for to any client wanting to know that the service or the product is right for them, they also want to know the background of the company. so, if it's a product, they want to know where is the material from, where has it been sourced, how has it been manufactured, how is the packaging provided, how is the transport, everything around. whether this is as green as it possibly can be, whether it's sourced in an ethical way, and everything that is, really caring for the environment and people. services, there's, the since they're not offering a product, they don't have, any sourcing material in in that way. but even the website itself is also how, a website is being how the business itself that is having the website is, conducting business. so for example, are they if they're a smaller or bigger company, how they are, you know, with the employees, are they giving back to the community, do they have certain programs that help the community, also make it more, inclusive. so there's a whole lot that different businesses can do to really show and demonstrate that they are a conscious business, that they're inclusive, that they take responsibility socially and, environmentally, and that they're doing the best that they can, in providing, a good service and product that is, also really, provided in a conscious way. Sarah: yeah. so good. thanks for giving those examples. now in our case, there we mainly have solopreneurs. right? so these are not most of my listeners don't have a product. they there are coaches, consultants, trainers, etcetera. and so where, like, on the website, would you mention any of these engagements that you mentioned that, you know, for example, you give back to the community or that that you're supporting a cause or something like that? where do people usually mention that? Uta: yeah. so one page, which is great, is, for example, the about page. or alternatively, they could even create in, separate pages, sustainability page or how we contribute page. but, so the about page, everything on the website is about the consumer rather than the business itself. in the about page, there's more, sort of freedom tools to really talk about the company in a way, that really shows, who they are. so in the in the case of a one person business, a one person, that person is the business. we are the reflection of the company. so we can, share our values of, also share what we're doing. so for example, if the website is hosted, by a green hosting company, then that would be a great place to also show that on the website. because i think sometimes people, they do they support a lot of be it, you know, growing trees or, supporting charities and doing quite a lot. but sometimes they're even hesitant of putting that on the website out of fear that perhaps, it it comes across in the way that they want to show off that we are doing all these, you know, activities to help others. but i think it is, i think it's really good to show if this is authentically and truthfully what the company or the one person is doing, then to show that on the on the website, for example, if they're supporting a charity, perhaps they're having a blog where they could write about a recent, you know, event where they were involved, when they were raising money for charity, for example. so all of these, inform i think all of that information is really great to share because, really, it shows of who that person, that business is. Sarah: yeah. those are great, great places. obviously, i think the about page, besides the homepage, is actually the most visited page of of a website. right? because people are just curious. and you said it's so, yeah, eloquently. it's not so much about the owner or not only about the owner of the website. yes. people are curious about the owner of the website, but i always explaining explain it like a a mirror almost. like, they come to the about page to find out whether they're looking at themselves and whether they see themselves in the the owner of this website or in my case, since i i work a lot with with solopreneurs specifically. but even even on a product or a company website, we are looking whether we are aligned with this company, and that's what happens on the about page. so, yeah, i totally agree with you that that's a good place. i think i have actually a few, like, logos of, you know, collaborations, that i have at the bottom, like, in the footer of of, one of the pages or or maybe even on can't remember. should i look that up? but but that's other another way to, you know, have certain, logos that you, want to highlight and put them in the footer of of the website. what do you think about that? Uta: yes. absolutely. or any certifications or, you know, organizations that you're a member of, absolutely, to place those in the footer is a great place. Sarah: yeah. so conscious clients, they're not just conscious, but they also i feel like they're more thorough in their research, and they're, you know, they they really come to your website to get a lot of information. so what is some of the information that you want to make sure that they have access to besides, you know, these collaborations that we we just mentioned? and and how does storytelling have a role in that? Uta: mhmm. yes. so when you, think of a website, there are really two parts of the website. so there are the main pages, which are, you know, the home, the about, the individual service pages, the contact page. this is which makes up the basic structure of the website. and within that, you're also sharing your story, or the story, that is speaking to the client, to help them understand what you're offering and whether that is the right thing. and then you have, i suggest, people to have a blog because the blog serves several purposes. on the one hand, a blog is the place where you can really write and go deeper into certain aspects of your work, all the values, and what is important to you because that doesn't all fit onto one page. it would be overwhelm for a client to to read everything. but so this is really good where it's where you have a blog because it can demonstrate, you know, that you're an expert in what you're in the service that you're providing. you can share more about you, your values. you can demonstrate that more. and, it's also great for seo. so for seo, you need to have more content, highly valuable content. and so you can share more about that in the various blog posts. Sarah: yeah. so true. and it's funny because it's actually just today that we're having the the seo, workshop, collab workshop with, kelly druid. and in that combination of content and and and then also kinda tricking the algorithm to show up for the right people. right? for those conscious clients that i i find that fascinating that we can play the game, but play it in a humane way so that it it benefits us. and and, yes, you're so right. the blog helps us go beyond just the about page. right? so even if we're not just aiming for seo, it just gives us extra space that we can use to to expand on on those topics. yeah. Uta: yes. absolutely. so for this, a blog is really the perfect, solution instead of cramming it all into one page. Sarah: right. i i, i think it was a contact on linkedin, trying to remember her name. she's from the philippines. i think her first name is chek or or dulio or something like that. i'll have to look her up and and quote her in the show notes. but she's really into sustainability, and, she had this kind of template, how to create a sustainability page for for your small business, which i, really loved. and what i loved about it is that she invited us to tell our story with sustainability. because, again, we're not a huge corporation where we have a sustainability department and everything is perfect, and, you know, we're you're we're totally we taught totally bought into sustainability, and we're now an expert in sustainability. we're not. so, i, followed that that template that she shared and really just with transparency shared my story of of how sustainability has, become more and more important to me. so if listeners are curious, you can go to humane dot marketing forward slash sustainability and just kinda see how i share that story. i think that's important in the small business field because it can feel overwhelming. this whole sustainability thing can feel totally overwhelming, and we can feel like, who are we to want to even try to make an impact here as, you know, solopreneurs? but we actually can make a small impact, and all all of the small impacts make a big impact as we know. so, yeah, really, really like this idea of transparency and just saying, hey, you know, yes, i take flights, because because that's important to me. but i have many other things where i feel like i'm doing a good job. i think that that's another topic. it's kind of like this shaming that goes around, around the sustainability topic, and that's difficult, to to deal with. so, yeah. Uta: yes. i agree. i think that is also partly tying into what i was sharing before that people then are hesitant about sharing anything on the website because somehow it could perhaps have a drawback even though the intention was coming from a good place. but i think i like to think that we're all on a journey. so it's not that we are the completed end product in a conscious business that does everything correctly. because it is a process. we're just becoming better and better and becoming more sustainable and more conscious. so i, you know, we are all in different places, and i'm just encouraged that everyone is on that journey, and we are all getting better and better. and that's, you know, what we can do. Sarah: yeah. exactly. let's switch topics and now go to the business owner, part and more of the website maintenance. so, yeah, what what role does website maintenance have to play in this whole field of being a conscious entrepreneur? what matters there? Uta: yeah. so i see a website like the shop window, to a shop or a restaurant. and, you know, when you go past the shop window, the shop window should really be a great reflection of what the shop is actually offering, being clean, up to date, appealing to that type of client or customer that they want to attract, and being taken well taken care of and so for me the website is exactly the same and especially for solopreneur, the business is a reflection of who we are and i see that the website is really a reflection of that business. so to make sure that it's really up to date with the offerings that we're having, that, we're keeping that fresh, that we are updating, you know, if you've got, any new certifications, for example, or client, reviews, that we're adding them to the website. so the website isn't a a one you know, a once it's done, it's done kind of project. it's an ongoing project. and i also find it actually helps me to look at myself and my business when i look at my website because it gives me an a reflection back of, okay, that's where i'm at now. so i like it actually as a kind of a journey of business and personal development. that's the way i see the the website. so, it depends whether you have a wordpress website, a wix, or squarespace, or something else, in terms of what you actually need to do. so i'm gonna focus on wordpress websites because this is where you as the business owner have to do, the more, tasks than somebody who has a wix or squarespace or some other website. what's really important is that you keep an eye on with updating wordpress, the plugins, and the themes. because what happens if that isn't done regularly is that hackers could hack, one's website and the website owner might not even be aware that they've been hacked, and that could go on for a really, really long time. they couldn't realize that at all. then the website could also be infected with malware. and then from then on, it's just, you know, you need to basically try to either review, remove the malware and sometimes just start again with a fresh website. so you don't want to have that happen, and this is why it's really important to keep an eye and keep always software updated, and that's actually also quite an easy thing to do. it's not a very complicated thing to do. Sarah: yeah. it happened to me twice. and i can't like, even though i updated the the plugins, so i was just super, super happy that i had a backup. actually, i had a backup from the the host, but then an additional backup that i pay for annually. so, yeah, it's just such a pain when you get hacked. and oftentimes, you don't, yeah, you don't notice it unless you're on your website, like, daily and or, of course, you have, clients tell you that, you know, something's wrong there. so yeah. Uta: yeah. and thank you for mentioning. that is the other really important task to do is to have regular backups. very often, the hosting companies offer that as part of the package, but it's good to have an additional set of backups, for yourself that you can also automate, have that backed up every, you know, week or however you want to choose to, to a a drive. and, yes, always good to have a backup and to be able to restore the website. Sarah: yeah. what about, you know, from the visitor's perspective, i always hear that speed, is a big deal. i think it's a big deal for seo, but it's obviously also kind of important for the the visitor. so maybe the question is, well, what makes a website fast or on the other hand slow? and how can we prevent that or or keep up with maintenance to not have that happen? Uta: yeah. so one of the major, reasons why websites are slow are because there could be very large images or media files, a lot of animations, that just make the website slow load quite slowly. so whenever, you know, somebody uploads a new blog post or any other image to always optimize the images is really important. it's also important from a sustainability point of view because the it's smaller in data, so it takes less storage space. so, optimizing images is really important. and, also clearing out, you know, your media, folder once a week, you know, so often to, delete any images that, you know, one doesn't need. sometimes, you know, people upload several versions of the same image because the sizing wasn't quite correct, but then they leave all the old versions on there. so good housekeeping really helps with that. Sarah: yeah. yeah. that's so true. like and and informing everybody who's working on your website, because i had that happen where i was very diligent, but i hadn't thought of, oh, i need to inform my virtual assistant who's actually doing all the podcast show notes. and and so we have these mega big files, image files, and i couldn't understand why this was happening. so yeah. like, every anybody who touches your website needs to understand, a, how you minimize the images and b, why we're doing it. so so so true. yeah. Uta: yeah. so and, mhmm. Sarah: yeah. so explain to us you mentioned, you know, it also matters from a sustainability perspective. like, explain that to us because i remember just a few years back, i i'm working with, with the company called pond foundation where i do, measure my emissions and and buy, credits every year. but before that, i well, i actually while i was talking to them, i was like, well, i don't really have i don't really create any emissions because i'm a digital business, and so, you know, there's nothing there. and then they were explaining to me how this works. so please do explain it to our listeners as well. Uta: yes. i mean, it's so easy to forget or to not even think about that actually everything that we're doing online, every single email that we send, every website that we load, every youtube video that we watch, that everything that all takes electricity, it takes energy, and it takes storage space to show all of that to us. and, so that is, where energy is being used up, and it accumulates quite a bit because there is just so much data, you know, going back and forth all the time. so, this is why just be becoming being conscious of that or being aware that just because we live having a digital business and we don't take drive the car and we don't take flights to visit clients doesn't mean that we don't use our resources and energy. we do. so this is where it's really, important to be mindful of. and, in the, green website field or sustainability field, there are several, agencies now that actually specifically focus on building low carbon websites because that is important to, you know, the the the world consumers and businesses. Sarah: yeah. thank you. thanks so much. i have actually a specific question, that is gonna help me, but hopefully also others. what about videos? i think when we embed videos in our website, that's that's really bad, even worse than than pictures. right? is that correct? and and if it is, well, what do we do instead? like, it's very awkward to just include the link and then have people have to go to youtube. so what what do you recommend to clients who want to embed a video on not on a home page. i think that's kind of passe. it's but but maybe on a replay page or, you know, something like that. Uta: well, they're embedding the the video. you're actually just creating the link. you're not uploading the video and the, you know, the huge file to your website. so it's not being stored on the website. so whether it's being watched, you know, via your website or on youtube directly isn't really going to make much of a difference in that sense because it's just displaying it for your website, but it's not stored in any way on your website. Sarah: okay. so it's the storage part that would be bad, that would yeah. slow down my website and and be, yeah, create more. okay. so so the embedding part doesn't is not the problem. okay. Uta: no. Sarah: good. so you host it on youtube and then you just get the the embed code. Uta: exactly. Sarah: okay. great. wonderful. what other maintenance tasks did we did we not mention yet any anything else that comes to mind before we wrap up here and you give us a little sneak peek? Uta: i mean, you're going to hear, i'm sure, a lot about that, you know, tonight in your workshop about seo. the website maintenance, is also really important for seo. so, you know, keeping checking, for example, that you don't have any dead links, for example, on the website. so this is also something can be done automatically. there are loads of websites that offer that, to remove any of the links. and then adding content monthly to really update your website, which is good for seo. searching engines love it that you have new content. if you don't really keep your website up to date and refresh it with content and information, then that doesn't send a good signal to the search engines. so that is another really key aspect of website maintenance is to continue to adding content, valuable content that, you know, your clients want to want to read. Sarah: that's a good point. because i kinda stopped blogging for a few months now. we need to go back there. because, yeah, i do have a few keywords that do really well. but what you're saying is, like, if i slow down and that i don't add new content, then that might slow down as well because the basically, the the the search crawls are gonna be like, well, this website is not active anymore. Uta: exactly. Sarah: okay. wow. interesting. well, give us a sneak preview of the workshop and what we're gonna go into there. Uta: yes. so in the workshop, we're going to go through more, all the activities of how to actually do the backup of the of the website, going to also share, a very easy process of how to add an accessibility wizard widget to your website, which is, of course, really important for websites in general, but also specifically for conscious businesses to make it really accessible to everyone. how to back up your website, your wordpress website, if, if you don't know how to do that. also, that's, a free backup plugin, so you don't need to pay any fees for that. same with the accessibility widget. also, that's also for free. so there's more hands on, activities looking at, you know, one's websites. i'm also there, of course, to answer any questions, that people might have regarding to the back end workings of the wordpress website. Sarah: yeah. i love that. and as always, on these collab workshops, we're gonna be putting people into breakout rooms. and i can i just thought of this now is, like, have them as accountability buddies going forward? so after the workshop, maybe they can check-in with each other and say, hey, did you upload that plug in and and and give each other feedback on their websites? i think it's so valuable to have this peer collaboration going on as well. Uta: absolutely. yes. definitely. Sarah: well, thanks so much for, being here, uta. and and please let people know where they can find you, and then i'll tell them how to get to the workshop as well. but go ahead and please share your website and any resources. Uta: right. yeah. well, thank you so much, sarah, for having me, and i'm really looking forward to the workshop. and, yes. so people can find me on carrot and karma dot com. and my name is ute de montes, and i'm also on linkedin. Sarah: love that that website name, carrot and karma. very easy to remember because it just, yeah, stands out. yeah. it's wonderful. and and so if you feel like, yes, i definitely would like to, come to the workshop and and learn more and then actually roll back your sleeves and do some of these things that that just mentioned, go to humane dot marketing forward slash workshop. and as always, these workshops are held in our community, the humane marketing circle. and so you can join just for this session for a small donation. and, yeah, it would be lovely to see you. so this is on march fifth. and, again, you go to humane dot marketing forward slash workshop, and we look forward to seeing you there. mhmm. so much for being here, hoota. Uta: thank you. Speaker 3: i hope you got some great value from listening to this episode. please find out more about yuta and her work at carrot and karma dot com. and again, we'd love to have you join us in our community for this collab workshop with utah. you can sign up for a small donation at humane dot marketing forward slash workshop. you find the show notes of this at humane dot marketing forward slash h m two zero four. and on this beautiful page, you'll also find a series of offers such as the humane business manifesto, as well as my two books, marketing like we're human and selling like we're human, and soon my third book, business like we're human. thanks so much for listening and being part of a generation of marketers who cares for yourself, your clients, and the planet. we are change makers before we are marketers. so go be the change you want to see in the world. speak soon.

2/20/25 • 33:52

In this new episode titled "Is Slow Business More Humane," we discover the world of slow business with Andy Mort, a Slow Business Coach, songwriter, and sound artist. This conversation challenges the prevalent "faster, more efficient" mentality in today's business world, offering a refreshing perspective on how entrepreneurs can incorporate spaciousness and human connection into their work. It's the first of a series 'Sarah & Friends discussing Business Like We're Human topics' So in this first episode of the series of 'Sarah & Friends discussing Business Like We're Human topics' we discussed: How Andy became a Slow Business Coach The relationship between inner peace, slowness, and its impact on clients and the community. The connection between spaciousness, innovation, and creativity in business. The contrast between the slow approach and the prevalent "faster, more efficient" mentality in business. The importance of human connection in business interactions, especially in the context of sales and client relationships. Practical first steps for entrepreneurs to incorporate more spaciousness in their life and business. and so much more -- Is Slow Business More Humane? 1 00:00:01.830 --> 00:00:07.590 Sarah Santacroce: Andy. It's so good to see you again and have you on the humane marketing podcast welcome back. 2 00:00:07.590 --> 00:00:12.940 Andy Mort: Thank you so much. It is lovely to be with you again, Sarah. I love talking to you so. 3 00:00:12.940 --> 00:00:13.320 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 4 00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:14.399 Andy Mort: About this? Yeah. 5 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:24.780 Sarah Santacroce: We always have great and deep conversations, and so I couldn't think of a better person than you to talk about this concept of 6 00:00:24.930 --> 00:00:33.970 Sarah Santacroce: slowing things down, and the question whether a slow business is a humane business and what all of that involves. So 7 00:00:34.290 --> 00:00:52.720 Sarah Santacroce: it's good to have you here. Why don't you explain a little bit how you got into this concept of being a slow business coach? It's been a few years now. And yeah, how has this evolved for you? And how does it 8 00:00:52.930 --> 00:00:59.850 Sarah Santacroce: feel in in your business? And how do people react to it? So explain it a little bit. 9 00:00:59.850 --> 00:01:03.999 Andy Mort: Yeah, yeah, sure. I mean, it's something that I didn't 10 00:01:04.129 --> 00:01:10.419 Andy Mort: necessarily set out to to do or to be. It's just something that has evolved really 11 00:01:11.190 --> 00:01:14.769 Andy Mort: over time of like working with people. And I've always worked with 12 00:01:15.230 --> 00:01:20.740 Andy Mort: introverted and highly sensitive people. So those who. 13 00:01:21.570 --> 00:01:28.660 Andy Mort: I guess, find the the pace of modern life, maybe a bit overstimulating at times. 14 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:33.769 Andy Mort: And so there's been like this necessity of of slowness 15 00:01:34.390 --> 00:01:38.709 Andy Mort: for the sake of people's nervous systems. And you know, just being able to 16 00:01:39.370 --> 00:01:43.999 Andy Mort: focus and get clear on. You know what's important and what isn't, and all of that kind of thing. 17 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:50.250 Andy Mort: But also there's been this, I guess increasing awareness in me that this is really 18 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:53.650 Andy Mort: bad for all of us, and this whole mentality of. 19 00:01:53.800 --> 00:02:00.690 Andy Mort: you know, move fast and break things which has come from this sort of tech world and 20 00:02:01.290 --> 00:02:08.120 Andy Mort: has a is an appropriate tool in many situations in that world. But it, it seems to have 21 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:16.460 Andy Mort: kind of permeated everything. And so there's this very reactive energy that I just feel in the world 22 00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:25.229 Andy Mort: around me. And that kind of comes into me. And it's in people. And this needs to be productive. And all of these words that you know you 23 00:02:25.490 --> 00:02:31.149 Andy Mort: obviously use a lot. And you're sort of rebelling against in many ways in what you do. 24 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:40.479 Andy Mort: yeah. And so I guess what I do is is help people identify, you know. Where is that energy 25 00:02:40.580 --> 00:02:45.230 Andy Mort: taking me away from what I want to be doing and who I am, and 26 00:02:45.550 --> 00:02:52.050 Andy Mort: the impact that I might want to have with my work or in my family in my relationship. 27 00:02:52.310 --> 00:02:59.669 Andy Mort: whatever it might be. And then to yeah, put into practice ways of 28 00:03:02.330 --> 00:03:06.270 Andy Mort: yeah, slowing, slowing down and making space 29 00:03:06.660 --> 00:03:08.639 Andy Mort: for the important things, and to 30 00:03:08.930 --> 00:03:20.069 Andy Mort: make space to do the things that matter more slowly as well. And this, yeah, this twist on the old productivity thing of like do more in less time. I think I love the idea of 31 00:03:21.230 --> 00:03:26.469 Andy Mort: doing doing less more slowly, because it allows you to go 32 00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:28.559 Andy Mort: deep. And it allows you to. 33 00:03:28.970 --> 00:03:30.519 Andy Mort: Yeah, get into the 34 00:03:30.870 --> 00:03:35.650 Andy Mort: the depths of it and the richness of it, and to do what what you feel 35 00:03:35.880 --> 00:03:38.300 Andy Mort: is important and that kind of thing. So. 36 00:03:38.690 --> 00:03:45.220 Andy Mort: Yes. So I have a community that yeah, my haven community is the real hub of of what I do. 37 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:48.900 Andy Mort: So yeah, kind of coaching and group. 38 00:03:49.440 --> 00:03:55.899 Andy Mort: I'd say workshops. It's not really workshops. It's more sort of spaces to gather and to explore together. 39 00:03:56.230 --> 00:04:00.200 Andy Mort: And yeah, everything kind of flows out from there. 40 00:04:01.200 --> 00:04:25.200 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, that's so good to hear, because it it means already that you're not just. You know, the crazy one who came up with this term, and people are like, what is he smoking? It really shows. No, there's people who resonate with that. And and you know they want to be in community with others that want to look at business more slowly. And 41 00:04:25.290 --> 00:04:31.209 Sarah Santacroce: I love what you said. It's it's not just slowing things down, but doing less 42 00:04:31.410 --> 00:04:49.130 Sarah Santacroce: and doing those things even more slowly. So it's really the doing. Less part, I guess, has to do with creating the spaciousness for other things as well. And that's kind of what I talk about in the business. Like we're human book. It's it's not just this. 43 00:04:49.960 --> 00:05:05.079 Sarah Santacroce: you know, creating spaciousness to then like back in the days, you know, the 4 h work week kind of approach where? Where? You then, just, you know, spend your money by sitting on a beach somewhere in the Philippines. 44 00:05:05.080 --> 00:05:23.559 Sarah Santacroce: It really is creating spaciousness to be more human, to have the time to reconnect with humans or with nature, or to become an activist, or, you know, like spaciousness outside of your business, so that 45 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:28.559 Sarah Santacroce: you can do the things a human wants to do and and find that 46 00:05:28.710 --> 00:05:39.420 Sarah Santacroce: I think almost like if we don't create that spaciousness, we don't remember what as humans, we could also do instead of just working. 47 00:05:39.420 --> 00:05:39.960 Andy Mort: Yeah. 48 00:05:39.960 --> 00:05:41.469 Sarah Santacroce: What does that bring up for you. 49 00:05:41.470 --> 00:05:44.960 Andy Mort: I mean, and I and I think what you 50 00:05:46.060 --> 00:05:59.559 Andy Mort: emphasize and do so well as well is is integrating that spaciousness and slowness into the into the model of how you do business. And I think that feels like you think about the 4 h work week. There's almost this separation. 51 00:06:00.675 --> 00:06:03.560 Andy Mort: Between the work you 52 00:06:03.810 --> 00:06:08.989 Andy Mort: like. Plough everything into this part of your life, so that then you can do this over here. 53 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:09.970 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 54 00:06:09.970 --> 00:06:10.770 Andy Mort: And 55 00:06:10.910 --> 00:06:16.900 Andy Mort: while I think you know you, you obviously want space around work and not to be working all the time. 56 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:22.559 Andy Mort: Actually, there's something that you can bring into the work that you do do, and the business that you're building 57 00:06:22.810 --> 00:06:32.619 Andy Mort: that puts that spaciousness and the the approach of slowness and marketing like you're human into that thing itself as well. So that 58 00:06:32.780 --> 00:06:38.139 Andy Mort: there's a yeah, you're bringing the whole of you to the whole of what you do. 59 00:06:38.340 --> 00:06:41.300 Andy Mort: And so, yeah, that kind of when you were just saying that 60 00:06:42.010 --> 00:06:48.180 Andy Mort: kind of brought that up for me and and them the modelling of a different way of 61 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:52.750 Andy Mort: doing the business itself, and thinking about business, and thinking about what 62 00:06:53.460 --> 00:07:10.019 Andy Mort: what your business is enabling, both in terms of what you're maybe producing, or the service that you're offering, but also in the lives and the model that you're setting, and the example that you're setting to those who do business with you, and how that can become a contagious thing that 63 00:07:10.410 --> 00:07:14.340 Andy Mort: that spreads. And yeah, that sense of 64 00:07:15.110 --> 00:07:22.939 Andy Mort: of slowness or spaciousness or stillness that people might take away from an encounter with you. 65 00:07:23.180 --> 00:07:23.920 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 66 00:07:24.050 --> 00:07:39.149 Andy Mort: Then goes out into the world. And I think, as I was saying before, there's like that other energy that I feel very strongly at the moment where that sort of hustle grind culture like, and the 4 h work week, you know, do things. Really, it doesn't matter what you do, but just make money so that you can 67 00:07:39.330 --> 00:07:42.190 Andy Mort: then go off and do your own thing, or whatever 68 00:07:42.450 --> 00:07:46.950 Andy Mort: like that. That's a very palpable stress energy that 69 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:52.700 Andy Mort: I think also is contagious, and spreads and leaves us feeling a bit. 70 00:07:54.260 --> 00:07:56.789 Andy Mort: I don't know. Pulled in all sorts of different directions. 71 00:07:57.070 --> 00:08:00.589 Andy Mort: overwhelmed, burning out all of those things. 72 00:08:01.100 --> 00:08:02.000 Andy Mort: Yeah. 73 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:08.270 Sarah Santacroce: I think it's kind of part of the old business model where we are working ourselves. 74 00:08:09.150 --> 00:08:26.500 Sarah Santacroce: you know, to exhaustion, and we were working so hard, and we. And then we hear this idea of working less. And so we squeeze even more into maybe less time. And then, obviously, we're so exhausted that we then need 75 00:08:26.620 --> 00:08:44.709 Sarah Santacroce: that rest. But that's not what to me a business like we're human. Looks like it is like you said so. Well, building the slowness and the spaciousness into the business, so that I don't feel exhausted. And then. 76 00:08:44.890 --> 00:09:12.099 Sarah Santacroce: you know, just need to lie on the beach. I still want to be able to have the energy to use my time, that I created the space that I created for for other things, whether it be yes, to, you know, refill my own battery by being in nature, but also by giving back. I think that to me is an important part. Is 77 00:09:13.790 --> 00:09:21.190 Sarah Santacroce: we talked just before we started to recording. And and I said, like business as usual is. 78 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:43.919 Sarah Santacroce: I'm so tired of that concept because it really is the time where business should not be as usual anymore. And we do have, you know, kind of this responsibility also as entrepreneurs to yeah, to find solutions to come up with creative ideas on how we can. 79 00:09:44.270 --> 00:09:53.710 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, make this world a better place for lack of better words. But that that's really what this is about. So I think. 80 00:09:53.900 --> 00:10:02.840 Sarah Santacroce: would you agree that the innovation and the creativity also needs that space? 81 00:10:02.990 --> 00:10:06.830 Sarah Santacroce: What have you seen with your community? What. 82 00:10:06.830 --> 00:10:12.990 Andy Mort: Yeah, absolutely. And I love making space for collaborative 83 00:10:13.250 --> 00:10:16.150 Andy Mort: innovation and creativity as well. And 84 00:10:16.500 --> 00:10:19.870 Andy Mort: seeing what emerges. So one of the things that we do is 85 00:10:20.030 --> 00:10:25.829 Andy Mort: what I call a phrase maze where we just take we have a monthly theme. 86 00:10:26.020 --> 00:10:31.399 Andy Mort: So this month we're recording this in February. Our monthly theme is confidence. It's a very, very broad 87 00:10:31.520 --> 00:10:35.270 Andy Mort: theme. And then can I break that down into 88 00:10:35.490 --> 00:10:42.319 Andy Mort: you know what? What are some phrases or idioms, or quotes or ideas associated with confidence that come to mind. 89 00:10:42.770 --> 00:10:49.610 Andy Mort: and then kind of take them, break them down a bit, try and play with them and talk about, you know. 90 00:10:49.740 --> 00:10:54.569 Andy Mort: Okay, what does that bring up for you that's going on in your life at the moment. And 91 00:10:55.390 --> 00:10:57.199 Andy Mort: those kinds of things. 92 00:10:57.670 --> 00:11:04.640 Andy Mort: And then how can we maybe play with this creatively? Is there a is there a poem in this? Is there some kind of 93 00:11:05.030 --> 00:11:08.749 Andy Mort: painting, or a song, or whatever that you could just 94 00:11:09.010 --> 00:11:14.230 Andy Mort: have a go with the yeah playing with experimenting with, and 95 00:11:14.770 --> 00:11:21.370 Andy Mort: both in the discussions that we have, and then the sort of follow up creative expression. 96 00:11:21.950 --> 00:11:24.310 Andy Mort: You just see things that you would never be able to 97 00:11:24.610 --> 00:11:31.649 Andy Mort: imagine coming up from the outset. And I love this sort of experimental approach to life in general, but like 98 00:11:31.970 --> 00:11:38.400 Andy Mort: trusting, trusting the hive, trusting the collaborative potential. 99 00:11:38.650 --> 00:11:44.150 Andy Mort: the and when you talk about, you know, solutions to issues and the importance of business 100 00:11:44.350 --> 00:11:52.930 Andy Mort: being involved in looking at the the wider picture of how the world is right now, and thinking, you know, what role do we play in 101 00:11:53.810 --> 00:11:56.750 Andy Mort: changing the direction that we're maybe moving in or 102 00:11:56.980 --> 00:11:59.360 Andy Mort: creating a better future, or whatever it is. 103 00:12:00.415 --> 00:12:05.030 Andy Mort: Actually, I think, collaboration working with 104 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:15.319 Andy Mort: one another as partners, whatever that looks like, whether that's a business partnership or just socially doing stuff together 105 00:12:15.670 --> 00:12:20.640 Andy Mort: with a within values and with a vision, or whatever it is 106 00:12:21.170 --> 00:12:27.330 Andy Mort: that's so important. And again that turns business as usual on its head, because. 107 00:12:27.740 --> 00:12:35.409 Andy Mort: you know, seeing it won't mention who it is. But like the there's something going on at the moment that I'm looking into that 108 00:12:35.810 --> 00:12:42.010 Andy Mort: is a. It's this extraction that business people have to see 109 00:12:42.400 --> 00:12:53.360 Andy Mort: like the old way is seeing opportunities, being opportunistic and thinking, how can I capitalize on that and turn it back to me and make money from it? 110 00:12:54.118 --> 00:12:56.510 Andy Mort: Rather than how can I 111 00:12:56.870 --> 00:13:03.950 Andy Mort: be part of this movement. How can I, you know, contribute to this? What what does it need from me in order for this thing that I 112 00:13:04.060 --> 00:13:09.199 Andy Mort: connect with and believe in? Maybe it's an idea, or like a social movement, or whatever. 113 00:13:09.850 --> 00:13:13.749 Andy Mort: Yeah, what role can I take in that? That 114 00:13:14.050 --> 00:13:18.239 Andy Mort: makes me part of it rather than makes me possess it. 115 00:13:18.590 --> 00:13:25.070 Andy Mort: And I think that it's yeah, really important to start seeing business 116 00:13:25.430 --> 00:13:28.249 Andy Mort: through that eye through those eyes as well. 117 00:13:29.030 --> 00:13:30.040 Andy Mort: Yeah, if that. 118 00:13:30.400 --> 00:13:42.499 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, I'm so glad you brought up collaboration. And and this movement from we me to we that I mentioned in the in the book as well is kind of like. 119 00:13:43.610 --> 00:13:52.150 Sarah Santacroce: it's so aligned with slowing things down, because in order to collaborate, you do need to 120 00:13:52.460 --> 00:14:12.939 Sarah Santacroce: slow things down and actually let relationships develop right? Because the old way. And I'm definitely raising my hand here. The old way was affiliate marketing. That was like the big thing. And it was like, Oh, we are collaborating, but we weren't really collaborating, because we were just trying to 121 00:14:13.090 --> 00:14:29.440 Sarah Santacroce: tap into each other's reach to get more money for each of us, right? And and yeah, that's just that's just not human humane, whatever ethical even be. 122 00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:32.100 Sarah Santacroce: So in order to actually. 123 00:14:32.870 --> 00:14:41.870 Sarah Santacroce: yeah, create and nurture these relationships. Well, you need time. You, you know, an email exchange is not going to create 124 00:14:41.870 --> 00:15:05.360 Sarah Santacroce: relationship trust, based relationship. You need to invest the time in it. So that's another thing that is part of the business. But if you don't have the spaciousness to invest there, then it will always be transactional, and you will not actually be able to. 125 00:15:05.370 --> 00:15:06.310 Sarah Santacroce: you know. 126 00:15:06.350 --> 00:15:12.900 Sarah Santacroce: collaborate or create a movement or create the community because you don't have the time. You're always short on time. And you're always 127 00:15:12.950 --> 00:15:18.650 Sarah Santacroce: yeah struggling to create more transactions. Really. 128 00:15:18.900 --> 00:15:23.110 Andy Mort: I think it's such a good point. Yeah, that transactional. 129 00:15:23.680 --> 00:15:30.630 Andy Mort: because it is yet that affiliate model or the you work with people to combine 130 00:15:30.750 --> 00:15:34.540 Andy Mort: audiences or whatever it is. But yeah, ultimately, it's a 131 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:37.950 Andy Mort: I'll scratch your back. You scratch my back. And yeah. 132 00:15:38.300 --> 00:15:46.170 Andy Mort: you don't have time, as you say, for like relationships. And you know, anything really 133 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:50.990 Andy Mort: valuable at a human level in life takes time. 134 00:15:51.410 --> 00:15:57.700 Andy Mort: and it takes a lot of that liminal in between space that 135 00:15:58.280 --> 00:16:10.340 Andy Mort: is not controlled in the sense of being outcome, oriented or like. We've got to achieve this in the time that we are together. It's like, actually, you think about the most meaningful friendships 136 00:16:10.450 --> 00:16:14.979 Andy Mort: they're full of just time with and just time being. 137 00:16:15.140 --> 00:16:21.219 Andy Mort: And again, like some of these gatherings that we have. 138 00:16:22.470 --> 00:16:27.050 Andy Mort: it's and it takes a huge amount of I guess 139 00:16:27.350 --> 00:16:39.969 Andy Mort: faith in the process, or just allowing almost surrender. Just allowing things. Okay. Whatever is going to come out of this is going to come out of it, and I can't contrive it or control it from the outset. But I can trust that 140 00:16:40.320 --> 00:16:41.020 Andy Mort: hike. 141 00:16:41.130 --> 00:16:46.740 Andy Mort: Whatever will be will be here, and where. The more I've experienced doing that. 142 00:16:47.030 --> 00:16:49.540 Andy Mort: the more surprised I've been, and the more 143 00:16:49.920 --> 00:16:52.789 Andy Mort: like interesting things have come out of 144 00:16:53.660 --> 00:16:59.940 Andy Mort: gatherings, or, you know, conversations, or whatever. It is really difficult to 145 00:17:00.300 --> 00:17:07.050 Andy Mort: to remember that like you're like, right, need an agenda need a structure. And and it's like. Yes, structure can help with 146 00:17:07.369 --> 00:17:11.249 Andy Mort: keeping things going to a certain degree. But it's like you need to know where 147 00:17:11.859 --> 00:17:17.089 Andy Mort: planning becomes over planning, and it actually suffocates what might come out of it. 148 00:17:18.280 --> 00:17:23.019 Sarah Santacroce: I talk about this new business intimacy, and that 149 00:17:23.180 --> 00:17:44.519 Sarah Santacroce: is that exactly what you're talking about is like, usually in business. We have this way of being, which is very task oriented like, even if we do collaborate. There's, you know, a way to collaborate the old way, which is like, Okay, here's the agenda. Here's what we need to do. It's all about the doing right instead of 150 00:17:44.590 --> 00:17:59.979 Sarah Santacroce: yeah, allowing the time to just be and get to know each other. And and and yeah, that takes courage. I think that's the word came up when you were speaking. I'm like it takes a lot of courage to. 151 00:18:00.390 --> 00:18:08.230 Sarah Santacroce: you know. Bring this new business intimacy where we're all wired to think. Well, business should be this way. 152 00:18:08.430 --> 00:18:30.530 Sarah Santacroce: Business should be transactional. Business should be professional business should be, you know, a certain way. And so all of a sudden, we come along. And we're like, we're, you know, gonna do things slowly and more relationship based. And and it's just like people are like, what what's going on here. But I think. 153 00:18:30.560 --> 00:18:51.979 Sarah Santacroce: I think, yeah, that's to me. That's that's a business like, we're human. That is like, we're actually being humans in our business. And it's also more humane to us, because then our business is just an extension of who we are, and as solopreneurs. Isn't that, isn't that what we want right. 154 00:18:51.980 --> 00:19:00.489 Andy Mort: So, and it speaks to. I always remember something that you said in the workshop that we did a while back, which was 155 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:04.339 Andy Mort: just because it works. It doesn't mean it works for you. 156 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:08.120 Andy Mort: And I think that's something important 157 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:16.709 Andy Mort: when maybe having conversations with people about like, why would you? Why would you set up your business like this? Or why would you approach your business like this? Because actually. 158 00:19:17.050 --> 00:19:22.989 Andy Mort: business as usual, or these old ways still work to some degree. Or there are these things that work 159 00:19:24.010 --> 00:19:32.409 Andy Mort: and actually putting in that bit. But it doesn't work for me. There's something about that that. Yeah, it doesn't fit who I am, or what I believe 160 00:19:32.800 --> 00:19:37.669 Andy Mort: a business should contribute or should be doing in the world. 161 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:41.469 Andy Mort: And so I love that little. It's a 162 00:19:41.660 --> 00:19:46.169 Andy Mort: an invitation to gentle rebelliousness. I think I see it as because. 163 00:19:46.360 --> 00:19:48.429 Andy Mort: yeah, it allows you to put yourself 164 00:19:48.940 --> 00:19:58.259 Andy Mort: and your own beliefs and your values and the things that matter to you at the heart of your business rather than being like. What are these strategies and tactics that everyone else is doing 165 00:19:58.370 --> 00:20:07.829 Andy Mort: that do maybe make a lot of money, or they make bring quick results, or whatever. So. But how do I feel, or how would I feel if I 166 00:20:08.260 --> 00:20:10.630 Andy Mort: achieved that in that way. And it's like. 167 00:20:10.630 --> 00:20:11.450 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 168 00:20:11.450 --> 00:20:20.849 Andy Mort: And from past experience I feel a bit icky, and I feel a bit like Oh, that didn't doesn't feel good to have done it like that. 169 00:20:20.990 --> 00:20:26.139 Andy Mort: So what? What would feel good to me? And you know, to me and to lots of people. 170 00:20:26.310 --> 00:20:32.230 Andy Mort: that kind of the slowness, the relational yeah, that spaciousness. Actually. 171 00:20:32.420 --> 00:20:36.350 Andy Mort: how can you make a business work with that at the heart of it? Is the question. 172 00:20:37.145 --> 00:20:37.940 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 173 00:20:38.530 --> 00:20:59.679 Sarah Santacroce: And to me, like the the 1st 2 books, marketing, like, we're, human and selling, like, we're human were very much about our ideal clients and bringing this, you know, gentleness and humane approach and ethical approach to our ideal clients. And business like we're human, is going to be more about 174 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:24.869 Sarah Santacroce: us being in this business and and, like you said yes, finding out what works for us right, and feeling humane, and not exhausted and overwhelmed in our business so that we can actually do our life's work. And I used the peace sign as kind of part of the journey, because the idea is really to 175 00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:44.819 Sarah Santacroce: find your inner peace so that you can then bring change to the outer world. How do you see the relationship between inner peace and and you know, slowness. What have you seen from from your community, from your clients? 176 00:21:45.600 --> 00:21:47.880 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, is this part of the journey. 177 00:21:49.350 --> 00:21:51.410 Andy Mort: That's a great question. Yeah, 178 00:21:53.650 --> 00:21:57.279 Andy Mort: yeah. And I guess I like, I'd like to think in. 179 00:21:58.170 --> 00:22:01.800 Andy Mort: I guess spirals and circles rather than 180 00:22:02.280 --> 00:22:07.000 Andy Mort: straight lines, and so that when you talk about the here, the journey. 181 00:22:07.460 --> 00:22:13.020 Andy Mort: it's a kind of coming coming back round and like what you know what comes first, st the inner peace or the slowness. 182 00:22:13.140 --> 00:22:22.480 Andy Mort: It's all a mix, and it's all kind of yeah. You're experimenting with things that bring you. 183 00:22:23.410 --> 00:22:30.813 Andy Mort: I suppose, bring you to a place of how we're defining inner peace, maybe integrity. 184 00:22:32.840 --> 00:22:41.000 Andy Mort: a sense of satisfaction with how, how I am doing things or what I 185 00:22:41.190 --> 00:22:45.370 Andy Mort: have let go, and I think that's a big part of the equation is 186 00:22:45.840 --> 00:22:48.299 Andy Mort: being at peace with the things that you 187 00:22:48.450 --> 00:22:56.490 Andy Mort: don't have the capacity or the time or the energy to do, and almost actively letting those things go. 188 00:22:56.790 --> 00:23:01.200 Andy Mort: because obviously slowing down requires, they said 189 00:23:01.900 --> 00:23:09.569 Andy Mort: admission, or this acknowledgement that I can't do everything you know, and there are loads and loads of things that I would love to be able to do. It's not just. 190 00:23:10.560 --> 00:23:20.009 Andy Mort: you know, pressures that other people are putting on me that oh, you need to do this. You should do that. It's like, no, there's loads of things in life that I would absolutely love to have a go at. 191 00:23:20.420 --> 00:23:26.899 Andy Mort: But I can't. You know I'm a finite human being. And so really, coming to a place of peace 192 00:23:27.260 --> 00:23:39.010 Andy Mort: with that is important. And yeah, I think there's a there's a a point of. 193 00:23:40.780 --> 00:23:44.010 Andy Mort: I guess calmness and satisfaction in 194 00:23:45.890 --> 00:23:50.710 Andy Mort: again the gentle rebelliousness of letting go of things and of saying. 195 00:23:50.830 --> 00:23:53.799 Andy Mort: Do you know what these are? The? These are the things that matter. 196 00:23:54.010 --> 00:23:58.830 Andy Mort: There's just a few sort of real keystone ideas or 197 00:23:59.070 --> 00:24:03.970 Andy Mort: things that are part of my business or part of my life that actually there my 198 00:24:04.180 --> 00:24:08.640 Andy Mort: focus right now they're the things I'm committing to, and everything else can 199 00:24:09.110 --> 00:24:11.889 Andy Mort: can fall away. And and that's okay. 200 00:24:13.270 --> 00:24:15.270 Andy Mort: So yeah, I don't know if that answers that question. But. 201 00:24:15.270 --> 00:24:19.299 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, no, it totally doesn't. And 202 00:24:19.600 --> 00:24:37.570 Sarah Santacroce: it made me think of the word busy. You know how this is such a common word that we kind of throw around like a batch of honor that is part of the business world. Oh, if I'm busy, that means I'm successful, or that's how it's perceived. 203 00:24:37.700 --> 00:24:44.750 Sarah Santacroce: and so kind of making peace, making inner peace with this idea of 204 00:24:45.220 --> 00:25:10.500 Sarah Santacroce: maybe not wanting to be busy or wanting to be. What I start to say now is, I'm busy with life. And so that kind of, you know, can people can decide on their own? Well, what does that mean? Because if you're clearly, if you're saying I'm not busy. Well, people see that as something very bad, and they're like, Oh, no, I'm so sorry. 205 00:25:10.500 --> 00:25:10.820 Andy Mort: Yeah. 206 00:25:10.820 --> 00:25:36.229 Sarah Santacroce: Oh, your business is falling apart. You're not busy. So just making peace with this busyness thing and saying, Well, I'm not busy, but I am very focused, and I have very much clarity around the things that I do want to invest my time in. And and so it's, it's yeah. It doesn't give, give you this 207 00:25:36.620 --> 00:25:42.560 Sarah Santacroce: overwhelmed energy of that busyness does actually. So yeah. 208 00:25:42.560 --> 00:25:46.399 Andy Mort: Yeah, I love that. Yes, the words that we use are so 209 00:25:46.810 --> 00:25:50.050 Andy Mort: impactful, aren't they like? And yeah, I'm very aware of 210 00:25:50.280 --> 00:25:52.400 Andy Mort: someone says, how? How are things going? 211 00:25:52.710 --> 00:25:54.449 Andy Mort: So I'm busy. 212 00:25:54.450 --> 00:25:54.800 Sarah Santacroce: Okay. 213 00:25:54.940 --> 00:25:56.290 Andy Mort: Why have I said that? 214 00:25:56.845 --> 00:25:58.919 Andy Mort: But yeah, and also the 215 00:25:59.950 --> 00:26:06.489 Andy Mort: the yeah, really focusing in on the things that you want to do in the way that you want to do them. So like, recently, I've been 216 00:26:06.890 --> 00:26:12.580 Andy Mort: doing a lot more kind of hands on, I guess, creative. 217 00:26:12.850 --> 00:26:16.059 Andy Mort: So I've been doing a lot of collaging which I want to 218 00:26:16.410 --> 00:26:21.590 Andy Mort: been using. We have like a community Zine, that I put out once a month, and so I've been doing that for that. 219 00:26:21.850 --> 00:26:26.810 Andy Mort: But I also want to do more of that, for, like blog posts. 220 00:26:27.320 --> 00:26:29.869 Andy Mort: kind of featured images, and things that 221 00:26:30.410 --> 00:26:38.279 Andy Mort: until now, like constantly thinking like, oh, what? What's the most efficient way to to do that? Or like social media posts like? How can I 222 00:26:38.660 --> 00:26:41.030 Andy Mort: do them quicker? And all of that kind of thing. 223 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:47.740 Andy Mort: And obviously, you know, generative AI is A is a big part of that question as well, or the conversation 224 00:26:48.130 --> 00:26:52.359 Andy Mort: there of like, how can you do things more efficiently and 225 00:26:52.620 --> 00:26:56.210 Andy Mort: be more productive and get more out there? And all of that stuff? 226 00:26:56.370 --> 00:26:57.489 Andy Mort: And actually. 227 00:26:58.060 --> 00:27:06.829 Andy Mort: yeah, I'm kind of asking. That question of myself is that useful? Does that does doing more and doing it more quickly. 228 00:27:07.950 --> 00:27:13.919 Andy Mort: give me more satisfaction, or like a sense of connection to what it is that I'm doing 229 00:27:15.350 --> 00:27:21.290 Andy Mort: and if not, what do I want to do more? Slowly? Again coming back to that question. Actually, I want to 230 00:27:21.520 --> 00:27:26.419 Andy Mort: put some time, and my humanity into some of these things that 231 00:27:26.630 --> 00:27:30.250 Andy Mort: we're being promised. We can do quicker if we take our humanity out of it. 232 00:27:31.220 --> 00:27:36.310 Andy Mort: And I really appreciate, you know, when you can tell that somebody has really put 233 00:27:36.710 --> 00:27:40.360 Andy Mort: themselves into a blog post or 234 00:27:40.560 --> 00:27:46.929 Andy Mort: even a social media post. It's like, Oh, I can see the human there, and I think it's becoming more and more obvious like. 235 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:53.629 Andy Mort: however, you know, AI is getting more advanced. But there's still something of the uncanny about it that 236 00:27:53.860 --> 00:28:01.190 Andy Mort: is often quite evident or identifiable. And so 237 00:28:01.350 --> 00:28:07.709 Andy Mort: I don't know. I just see there's this moment that we're entering now, where there's this 238 00:28:07.860 --> 00:28:11.059 Andy Mort: call for more humanness, and there's a 239 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:22.469 Andy Mort: an appetite for it whether we're consciously aware of that appetite or not. We see people. And it's like, Oh, yeah, I want people I want. There's a human there. And 240 00:28:22.920 --> 00:28:27.490 Andy Mort: I just find that, yeah, really attractive and compelling. 241 00:28:28.060 --> 00:28:28.780 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 242 00:28:28.990 --> 00:28:53.180 Sarah Santacroce: And I'm glad you brought up AI. That was going to be my last question as well like, How does that play into all of this slowness, where everything we see out there is more, quicker and more efficient and got to do more. Right? So yeah, I love how you brought that up. And then also the yeah, the need 243 00:28:53.700 --> 00:29:05.209 Sarah Santacroce: for the human connection. And I think that's what we're both doing in our communities. And I think that's really a big part of business like we're human to bring in. 244 00:29:05.670 --> 00:29:08.580 Sarah Santacroce: not just a humanness in text, because 245 00:29:08.940 --> 00:29:23.700 Sarah Santacroce: again, that can be easily replaced by by AI, but the humanness in like real connection, even, you know. Obviously, it's going to be still using technology. So online. 246 00:29:23.720 --> 00:29:38.089 Sarah Santacroce: But but also they're slowing things down. We recently started introducing meaningful questions in our meetups. So they're based on 247 00:29:38.090 --> 00:29:58.819 Sarah Santacroce: on a deck of cards by Thomas, whom I've interviewed recently, and they're called who cards. And so we pick 2 cards, and they have meaningful questions on them. And so we just have, you know, basically half an hour conversations. And these questions are not business questions. They're personal questions, right? 248 00:29:58.820 --> 00:30:08.149 Sarah Santacroce: But it allows the community members to yeah, to really get to know one another and to talk about their worldview and 249 00:30:08.180 --> 00:30:13.450 Sarah Santacroce: and things like that, that matter in terms of building these 250 00:30:13.660 --> 00:30:21.879 Sarah Santacroce: relationships, this new business intimacy. And and yeah, even if I think about 251 00:30:21.910 --> 00:30:51.089 Sarah Santacroce: you know how I used to sell my workshops or programs, and how I'm selling them now like before. It really was a transaction click here, and you know, buy now. And now I'm for the marketing, like we're human program. No, I am always wanting to talk to the person right? It's like this. This business intimacy is like, well, yes, it's a group program. But I want to, you know, get to meet you. And I think 252 00:30:51.090 --> 00:31:04.130 Sarah Santacroce: that kind of approach people will start to look for and see. Am I being heard and seen, or am I just, you know, a number. And people just want the money. 253 00:31:04.477 --> 00:31:05.519 Andy Mort: How have you? 254 00:31:06.090 --> 00:31:10.490 Andy Mort: How have you found that? Because I aware of a 255 00:31:11.310 --> 00:31:16.779 Andy Mort: again a conditioning that we have, you know, when someone wants a conversation, especially in a business context 256 00:31:16.890 --> 00:31:21.280 Andy Mort: like my, I'd go into sort of a they're going to want to 257 00:31:21.450 --> 00:31:24.490 Andy Mort: sell something to me, because I'm so used to 258 00:31:26.130 --> 00:31:45.969 Andy Mort: yeah, it's almost the whole persuasion or influence movement of like, you need to get on the phone and actually talk to someone so that you can force the sale. And so and obviously, that's not. It's the opposite of what you're doing, because it's like I want to connect. And I'm the same. I want to sort of yeah, reach out, have a human connection with people. 259 00:31:45.970 --> 00:31:46.490 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 260 00:31:47.330 --> 00:31:53.219 Andy Mort: And yeah, I wonder, have you experienced people's yeah sort of poised. 261 00:31:53.220 --> 00:31:57.266 Sarah Santacroce: Actually inbound. So I'm not, you know, 262 00:31:58.110 --> 00:32:18.000 Sarah Santacroce: proposing this conversation, but it's it's an option on the sales page. So they know that is a conversation they they pretty much already decided. Yes, I want to join, but there's no way that you can just buy now. They have to sign up to talk to me, and then 263 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:46.420 Sarah Santacroce: I don't have to. I'm not selling anything because they've seen the program details. And they basically just want to find out, am IA good fit for this program? Oftentimes they just want to meet me, and, you know, have a conversation. And so that's what we do. We just have a conversation. And then sometimes it's about figuring out, how, how can we set up a humane payment plan? So it's very. 264 00:32:47.270 --> 00:32:54.989 Sarah Santacroce: I think it it really lowers or or it calms people's nervous systems because they know what to expect. 265 00:32:55.210 --> 00:33:17.470 Sarah Santacroce: and so giving them so much information upfront, and then just saying, hey? You want to talk about this. I know this is a great program. I've been running this for many years. Let's talk about it. If this is a good fit. So so that's usually how how it works. I know I see what you mean like by 266 00:33:17.720 --> 00:33:41.780 Sarah Santacroce: imposing this conversation. I don't think people would. Yeah, they they would probably be like, no, she wants to sell me something. And unfortunately, yeah, that's the reputation that business has. Right? It's like, Oh, you're gonna pitch me your stuff? So so I think what would work in this case is 267 00:33:42.220 --> 00:33:44.779 Sarah Santacroce: is picking a specific topic 268 00:33:45.460 --> 00:34:11.260 Sarah Santacroce: and say, how do you feel about what's happening in the world, or this specific thing like what we just addressed right at the beginning, before we started recording like, that would be a great topic to reach out to someone and say, Hey, what's your take on this? Have you seen this? And then just have a conversation? But then obviously not comments at the end, pitch your program, but just connect. 269 00:34:11.260 --> 00:34:15.649 Andy Mort: Yeah, I love that idea. Yeah. And that sort of resonates with the 270 00:34:15.830 --> 00:34:19.349 Andy Mort: the who cards, as you're saying as well. And 271 00:34:19.710 --> 00:34:23.249 Andy Mort: the it's like exploring the prompts that we do where 272 00:34:24.090 --> 00:34:29.359 Andy Mort: actually they might feel irrelevant to business, or they might feel like 273 00:34:29.790 --> 00:34:43.749 Andy Mort: what a waste of time you're talking about something that's irrelevant to this thing that really matters. And it's like, actually, that thing will come up if it needs to come up. And these are like, you know, train tracks along which the conversation 274 00:34:43.980 --> 00:34:46.840 Andy Mort: goes, and you'll see the things that are 275 00:34:47.100 --> 00:34:50.729 Andy Mort: in that environment around people as they start to talk. And then 276 00:34:51.030 --> 00:34:56.920 Andy Mort: you, you might explore that, and it might give rise to something completely unexpected. 277 00:34:57.100 --> 00:34:57.720 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 278 00:34:57.720 --> 00:35:00.470 Andy Mort: Saying earlier. So yeah, I really love that. 279 00:35:00.470 --> 00:35:25.059 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, one more thing I just thought of that I started doing is like, when I have an open workshop where I invite people outside of the community. I don't offer the recording for this workshop only to members, and so I do get some pushback every now and then for that, because people are just not used to it. 280 00:35:25.060 --> 00:35:33.340 Sarah Santacroce: You know they feel like, well, everybody else is offering a recording. Why aren't you? And and my answer is that I really. 281 00:35:33.670 --> 00:35:48.259 Sarah Santacroce: this is not just content. This is not just information. It really is part like, what I'm trying to show is the business like, we're human. So you're coming in as a human, and you participate. And 282 00:35:48.460 --> 00:35:56.710 Sarah Santacroce: and you know you get into breakout rooms and have conversations with peers about this topic. And and so. 283 00:35:57.110 --> 00:36:11.159 Sarah Santacroce: being in the in presence on Zoom is actually really important. I understand that in terms of you know, everybody's lives and time zones. Sometimes it doesn't work. 284 00:36:12.020 --> 00:36:19.060 Sarah Santacroce: But then you're really not like, just by getting the information you're not getting the actual message. 285 00:36:19.060 --> 00:36:19.410 Andy Mort: Yeah. 286 00:36:19.410 --> 00:36:21.960 Sarah Santacroce: Of that event or work. 287 00:36:21.960 --> 00:36:32.589 Andy Mort: More to it, isn't there? Yes, which is, you can't put into words the difference. It's like so like with the Zine that I mentioned earlier, which is called coming to our senses. 288 00:36:32.940 --> 00:36:35.419 Andy Mort: I've been doing. There's like a Pdf 289 00:36:36.210 --> 00:36:38.430 Andy Mort: visual version that I put out each month. 290 00:36:38.620 --> 00:36:45.450 Andy Mort: But I've also done audio and video versions. So I, you know, compose some music and then narrate what's. 291 00:36:45.990 --> 00:36:46.340 Sarah Santacroce: Content. 292 00:36:46.340 --> 00:36:58.500 Andy Mort: From the Zine over the top, and it's usually about 40 min long. And so we have a session on Zoom together. At the end of the month where I just play that video. And we just sit together and watch it. 293 00:36:59.010 --> 00:37:01.979 Andy Mort: And yeah, people have mentioned, like 294 00:37:02.490 --> 00:37:07.150 Andy Mort: having watched previous ones just on the sort of Youtube video 295 00:37:07.350 --> 00:37:12.729 Andy Mort: and then coming to their 1st live session with it, like the difference 296 00:37:13.190 --> 00:37:21.460 Andy Mort: it makes being there with others watching it live, and whether it's sort of the fact, you're not being distracted by a million one other things. 297 00:37:22.410 --> 00:37:23.550 Andy Mort: Or it's 298 00:37:23.720 --> 00:37:28.369 Andy Mort: you're aware that you're in presence. The presence of other like. There are people all around the world 299 00:37:28.500 --> 00:37:31.290 Andy Mort: there, at that same time doing the same thing as you. 300 00:37:31.650 --> 00:37:38.130 Andy Mort: and or something else like. It's really difficult to PIN down exactly what it is, but 301 00:37:38.500 --> 00:37:45.970 Andy Mort: the meaning of it, and the way that it lands in people is so much more than if they're just watching a video on their own. 302 00:37:46.420 --> 00:37:50.340 Andy Mort: she is speaks to, speaks to what you're saying there as well. Yeah. 303 00:37:50.340 --> 00:37:57.259 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, yeah, good. I guess one of the 304 00:37:57.690 --> 00:38:01.820 Sarah Santacroce: final questions would be like, How how 305 00:38:03.070 --> 00:38:14.619 Sarah Santacroce: entrepreneurs who are listening to this. And they're like, yeah, I could definitely use some more spaciousness in in my life and business. What would be like a 1st step that you would 306 00:38:14.990 --> 00:38:22.670 Sarah Santacroce: tell them to something to look at in their business, or something to do or not do. Probably. 307 00:38:23.690 --> 00:38:26.309 Andy Mort: Yeah, 1st step. 308 00:38:28.750 --> 00:38:30.719 Andy Mort: I think. And he I mean, he's 309 00:38:30.870 --> 00:38:40.020 Andy Mort: say all the time, but sort of just allowing yourself to to notice what matters to you in what you do and what 310 00:38:41.070 --> 00:38:48.920 Andy Mort: brings you satisfaction? And I've been exploring this this word satisfaction with a coaching client over the past 311 00:38:49.830 --> 00:38:55.760 Andy Mort: sort of 6 months or so and different sources of satisfaction. 312 00:38:57.120 --> 00:39:00.140 Andy Mort: And yeah, really reflecting on. 313 00:39:00.660 --> 00:39:11.800 Andy Mort: you know what's the most satisfying thing to you about the way that you approach your business. What's the most satisfying thing to you to hear from a client? What's what is satisfying. 314 00:39:11.970 --> 00:39:14.509 Andy Mort: you know, at the end of a day like 315 00:39:14.850 --> 00:39:19.360 Andy Mort: what has happened in a satisfying day, or whatever it is like. Just 316 00:39:19.550 --> 00:39:22.450 Andy Mort: yeah. Thinking about those different levels of satisfaction. 317 00:39:22.620 --> 00:39:26.439 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, and then, yeah, building a picture around that 318 00:39:27.100 --> 00:39:31.220 Sarah Santacroce: and then doing Murray condo on all the other things that. 319 00:39:31.220 --> 00:39:31.870 Andy Mort: Yeah. 320 00:39:31.870 --> 00:39:34.530 Sarah Santacroce: Doing, and are not satisfying right. 321 00:39:34.530 --> 00:39:39.659 Andy Mort: Yeah. And maybe yeah, because it's like the question of boundaries. It's 322 00:39:40.100 --> 00:39:47.409 Andy Mort: are you moving towards? If you move towards the things that are satisfying. Will the other things just fall away? Or 323 00:39:47.710 --> 00:39:49.440 Andy Mort: do you need to actively 324 00:39:49.830 --> 00:40:03.939 Andy Mort: extract certain things? It's most likely a mixture of both. But I think, yeah, for me. The first, st the starting point is moving towards the things that you know that matter most, and doing 325 00:40:04.260 --> 00:40:07.050 Andy Mort: things in the way that I want to do them. 326 00:40:07.210 --> 00:40:13.620 Andy Mort: And then, actually, those other things might naturally just, I'm no longer doing that interesting. 327 00:40:13.620 --> 00:40:16.184 Andy Mort: Okay, I don't need to bring it back. 328 00:40:17.295 --> 00:40:17.830 Andy Mort: Yeah. 329 00:40:18.270 --> 00:40:18.990 Sarah Santacroce: Great. 330 00:40:19.120 --> 00:40:30.080 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. And then I mean, you're such a creative. You create your compose your own music and talking about collages and all of that so bringing more 331 00:40:30.300 --> 00:40:44.490 Sarah Santacroce: creativity, like just giving yourself permission to be more creative in your business. I think that comes with the that permission of letting go of the shoulds, you know, like we are 332 00:40:44.600 --> 00:40:52.580 Sarah Santacroce: like copying so much of what other people are telling us to do. But if you 333 00:40:52.720 --> 00:41:07.109 Sarah Santacroce: realize oh, but that is not actually satisfying than just going into this permission of well, what if I do it differently and more creatively? How would that? Yeah, give me more satisfaction? Right? 334 00:41:07.110 --> 00:41:10.030 Andy Mort: Definitely, yeah, and your creative voice. 335 00:41:10.470 --> 00:41:13.810 Andy Mort: Just allowing that to to bubble up and be part of 336 00:41:14.170 --> 00:41:21.410 Andy Mort: the way you express yourself through your business and humor as well. I think humor is a big part of that like. 337 00:41:21.410 --> 00:41:21.730 Sarah Santacroce: M. 338 00:41:21.730 --> 00:41:25.219 Andy Mort: Doing things that make you laugh, doing things that yeah, you. 339 00:41:25.220 --> 00:41:26.600 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah playfulness. 340 00:41:26.600 --> 00:41:29.489 Andy Mort: Play you playful? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. 341 00:41:29.710 --> 00:41:32.310 Andy Mort: Yeah. Because people connect to that absolutely. 342 00:41:33.880 --> 00:41:34.590 Sarah Santacroce: Lovely. 343 00:41:34.730 --> 00:41:41.629 Sarah Santacroce: so good to talk to you, Andy, please do share about your community, and where else people can find you. 344 00:41:41.890 --> 00:41:47.580 Andy Mort: Yeah, I mean, the best place is is the haven. So the hyphen haven.co 345 00:41:47.710 --> 00:41:51.049 Andy Mort: everything. I've kind of brought everything that I do 346 00:41:51.420 --> 00:41:54.340 Andy Mort: with this in respect to what I've been talking about today 347 00:41:54.460 --> 00:41:57.620 Andy Mort: under that banner. Now. So you, there's yeah a bunch of 348 00:41:57.930 --> 00:42:02.450 Andy Mort: free stuff there, you can join the community, join us for some live events and things and 349 00:42:03.290 --> 00:42:05.915 Andy Mort: get the podcast through there. 350 00:42:06.620 --> 00:42:17.459 Andy Mort: yeah, just head there. Thank you, Sarah, this is yeah, it's been such a delight to talk to you. And I love talking about these things in this way. So thank you for this 351 00:42:17.690 --> 00:42:19.419 Andy Mort: invitation. It's been lovely. 352 00:42:19.890 --> 00:42:33.060 Sarah Santacroce: Thank you. Yeah, thanks for the listeners who slowed down with us and are still listening. So thanks again, Andy, and we'll stay in touch and speak soon. 353 00:42:33.520 --> 00:42:35.070 Andy Mort: Thank you. Absolutely.

2/10/25 • 52:04

In this episode of the Humane Marketing Podcast, we're joined by Kelly Drewett to explore the art of getting your content found by the right people. Kelly shares her expertise on conscious websites and sustainable SEO, unpacking how businesses can create effortless, human-centered experiences for their audience. We dive into the importance of understanding your audience, choosing the right keywords, and humanizing SEO strategies to make meaningful connections. Tune in for an insightful conversation that blends technical know-how with a touch of humanity. Here's what we covered: Conscious websites and sustainable SEO: What does this tagline mean to Kelly? SEO as matchmaking: The role of understanding your audience when choosing the right keywords. Humanizing SEO: Strategies for making the technical process of SEO more personal and audience-focused. Balancing SEO and authenticity: Is there a trade-off between ranking well and staying true to your brand's voice? How do you navigate it? Avoiding SEO overwhelm: Practical advice for entrepreneurs to focus on what truly matters without getting lost in SEO "best practices." and a preview of the Collab Workshop on February 5th -- Speaker 1: hello, humane marketers. welcome back to the humane marketing podcast, the place to be for the generation that cares. this is a show where we talk about running your business in a way that feels good to you, is aligned with your values, and also resonates with today's conscious customers because it's humane, ethical, and non pushy. i'm sarah zaneck rocha, your hippie turned conscious business coach for quietly rebellious entrepreneurs and change makers, mama bear of the humane marketing circle and renegade author of marketing like we're human, selling like we're human, and soon also my third book, business like we're human. if after listening to the show for a while, you're ready to move on to the next level and start implementing and would welcome a community of like minded, quietly rebellious entrepreneurs who discuss with transparency what works and what doesn't work in business, then we'd love to welcome you in our humane marketing circle. if you're picturing your typical facebook group, let me paint a new picture for you. this is a closed community of like minded entrepreneurs from all over the world who come together in two meetups per month to hold each other accountable and build their business in a conscious and sustainable way. we all share with transparency and vulnerability what works and what doesn't work in our business so that you can figure out what works for you instead of keep throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash circle. twice per year, i host my signature program, the marketing like we're human, aka the client resonator program live in a deep dive into the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala, you will learn to market from within. this program is for you if you want and need to get more clients, but want to share your message in an ethical and humane way. if you want to make a difference with your work. if you are just starting out or if you have been in business for a while, but haven't really found the marketing activities that work for you. or also if you are pivoting your business from business as usual to your life's work and want to radically change the way you get clients. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash program. and finally, if you prefer one on one support from me, my humane business coaching could be just what you need, whether it's for your marketing, sales, general business building, or help with your big idea like writing a book. i'd love to share my brain and my heart with you together with my almost twenty years business experience and help you grow a sustainable business that is joyful and sustainable. if you love this podcast, wait until i show you my mama bear qualities as my one on one client. find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash coaching. Sarah0: hello, friends. welcome back. today's conversation fits under the p of promotion. and if you're a regular here, you know that i'm organizing the conversations around the seven p's of the humane marketing mandala. if you're new here and don't know what i'm talking about, you can download your one page marketing plan with the humane marketing version of the seven p's of marketing at humane dot marketing forward slash one page. the number one and the word page. and this then comes with seven email prompts to really help you reflect on these different piece for your business. today, i'm having a wonderful conversation with kelly drewitt about getting your content found by the right people, or in other words, seo, search engine optimization. and i'll tell you about kelly just in a second. but first, allow me to just give you a little reminder, especially if you're not on my mailing list, that i'm hosting another live round of the marketing like we're human program. this is my signature program that i've been hosting since two thousand nineteen, which is part self development, inner development, part pragmatic, out there marketing and business advice. in short, it teaches you how to market from within so that you become a client resonator. for the past five years, i've been running the marketing like we're human program as a three month program to really deliver this transformation to market from within so that it resonates with your ideal clients. but i think we can all agree that we're living through some unusual times and sometimes quite rough times for entrepreneurs. and what worked five years ago doesn't necessarily work anymore today. so here are the three main reasons why i decided to experiment with a more condensed and also, therefore, a more budget friendly version of my signature program. first of all, the economic landscape looks very different from what it did five years ago. and many of us have either less available cash for investing in ourselves, or we just kinda wanna hold on to that cash because there's so much uncertainty. second, blocking ten ninety minute calls for a program is a challenge for many. and so that's another reason why i will experiment this round with a shortened version. and then finally, also our consciousness has really evolved as well. so i find that participants are much more ready for humane marketing, and i can pick them up right where they're at. so another reason to experiment with a shorter version of of my program. so what does this condensed version, look like? well, the online portion of the program is the same, the video course and the workbooks. and then instead of ten live group calls, we'll go with five. so, i'm basically taking two models into one call. and if we need an additional call, we'll add one at the end. and, of course, the investment is reduced substantially from, seventeen hundred and fifty to nine hundred and fifty for the program. so, yeah, i'm i'm just wanting to experiment because i want this to be accessible to entrepreneurs. right? and so i'm experimenting with, with this cohort for this round, with these conditions. so i already have wonderful humans signed up for, for this cohort, and i'm just anticipating a wonderful group of change makers to kick off twenty twenty five. if this is the first time you hear about the program, this is for you if you want and need to get more clients, but you want to share your message in an ethical and humane way. you want to make a difference with your work. maybe you're just starting out or have been in business for a while, but haven't really found the marketing activities that work for you. also, maybe you are pivoting your business from the business as usual to your life's work and want to radically change the way you get clients. so if any of this resonates, please go ahead and book a call with me, via the orange button on the invitation page at humane dot marketing forward slash program. we start on january thirtieth, so there's still time to, go through it, read it all, look at all the testimonials. there's tons of testimonials and case studies, whole case studies on this page. so have a look, and then, let's have a human conversation around it. alright. thanks for letting me share that here. now back to kelly and getting your content found by the right people. so kelly druid has more than twenty five years of experience in website development and search engine optimize optimization seo. she is passionate about helping you improve your seo and really develops user centric wordpress websites optimized for search engines and provides technical seo as well as helps you create unique seo friendly content. so that sounds all very technical, but i promise, if you listen to this conversation, you will find out that it's actually very human and humane. kelly also used to be a member of the humane marketing circle, so she is very much aligned with our values. and then we cannot wait to have her back for a collab workshop in our community. so without further ado, let's listen to this conversation about getting your content found by the right people. Sarah: hi, kelly. it's good to have you back on the humane marketing podcast. welcome. Kelly: hi, sarah. really nice to be here. Sarah: yeah. lovely to reconnect. you were on the podcast once before and my community, the humane marketing circle, which you used to also be a member of, wanted you back for another collab workshop. so that's what we're doing. we're just recording a kind of introduction, episode, and then we'll plug the workshop at the end so that listeners, if they're like, oh, i i wanna learn more about, kind of like the humane approach to seo from kelly. hopefully, they'll join us. so let's just talk about your approach to seo and, you know, for those who may not know what seo even stands for, you can you can, explain that. but i picked up the, the tagline basically from your website where you say conscious websites, sustainable seo. so maybe start us off there and tell us what that means to you. Kelly: yeah. so i originally was a website designer. i am a website designer. but, over the years, over the twenty six years that my business has been running, i've got i know it's amazing. i've i've been working it out this year, and it's incredible. i started doing the whole website design side of stuff. and then sort of halfway through that time, i just wondered why some websites were ranking and some websites weren't. and, so i went in to investigate why stuff worked on search engines and stuff didn't. and i just got really into that side of stuff. so the reason that i say it is conscious websites because websites will rank when they are inclusive. so, basically, if the text is big enough for everybody to see, if there is contrast in the colors of the website so that people can see the text on the buttons. or, for example, a lot of people have those big hero images that go all the way across the screen, and then they might have text in front of it. and oftentimes, you can't see what the text says because it's white on, i don't know, a snowy mountain background or something like that. so it's very hard to read. and that's where you have to be really conscious about whether or not people can read and click your website. so that helps with search engine optimization. so being very clear, very transparent, ensuring that the the visitors can use your website, that helps your seo. and then, therefore, it's sustainable because you stick to the top of search engines once you rank well. usually, you'll fluctuate a little up up and down one or two places for different search terms, but you will stick. so organic seo is sustainable. so that's why i've got that tagline. Sarah: mhmm. yeah. that that makes a lot of sense. and it and it feels like it's conscious to the website owner because you have to be conscious and apply consciousness. yeah. but it's also conscious, because, like you said, it's inclusive and it's, you know, it's a website created in integrity, rather than just to trick, the people or to trick even the search engines. right? Kelly: exactly. yeah. i that's the side of organic seo that i really love is the fact that it is conscious. it is inclusive. and i have i've had a business owner say to me before, but i don't want to, that a a person that's visually impaired will not be able to do the sport that i'm offering. you know? so then that's not their target market. and, yes, that is completely valid. it's just that search engines will, reward the website if you're making it better for people that are visually impaired. if you think about our moms and our dads and things like that or even you know, i'm wearing glasses now as well. yeah. that's exactly. and you're looking at a website, and it's got teeny tiny writing or it's really, really light and thin and you can't really read it, you're not gonna stick around on that website because you just can't use it. and the search engines can see that. they know in the code this is very narrow text or it's very small text. and so that is not you're not thinking about your visitor if you're using that kind of font. and there's lots of little things like that that the the search engines look for and just they will rank you higher if you're doing those things better. Sarah: it's interesting because it's kind of the common sense, things that when you hear seo, you don't think of those things. you you think of, you know, search engine optimization already. it's like this tech term, and you think kind of of these tech bros who are tricking the search engines. and yeah. Kelly: you can submit a tags, and you think about tags. and you're like, oh my gosh. where's my title tag? and is is the structure okay? and and, yes, those things are completely a part of seo, and you have you need to do those things as well. but it does come down to, that design of the website as well. so that there's a design side to seo, and there is a tech side to seo. and, obviously, there's that content side as well. so there's three three parts. Sarah: three parts. yeah. so when you when you say, provide an effortless experience for your audience, you mean all of those things combined. right? Kelly: yeah. so the journey around a website is, another thing that search engines will, pick up on. so if you've got, say, a blog post that you've written and you're referring to another part a blog, another blog post, or another resource that you've maybe taken a little bit of information from, when you link to that resource, you should link the text within the content. so within protect the the the words within the text instead of, like, putting it at the end of the blog post. because when you're using the text in within the content, it helps the user journey. so someone's reading, ah, i want to find more about find out more about that. they can click straight on that link instead of sticking it right down at the bottom, and they've completely forgotten what they've they've read. so it's thinking about that user journey and pushing them around the website easily. Sarah: mhmm. yeah. so so really creating this path for them. and then maybe also from that new page that they clicked on, then leading them to another page. right? like, from what i remember from seo or just website use in general, it's like we want them we want the person to be on our website as long as possible. so that's why we want to take them on this journey and not just click away after they just read, you know, this amazing blog post that we spent hours and hours writing. so Kelly: yeah. so this is what our, workshop will be about. it's basically about the keywords for real people, and it's writing that content for real people as well. so that content lands with the audience. it lands with the visitor. it's really relevant to them, and you're taking them on that journey through your website. so it's super easy and super interesting and really fun. i mean, seo is fun, she says. trying to convince everybody else in the world. Sarah: well, yeah, i i think that's what attracts me to your approach so much because it's really about resonance at play, really. it's like what we're trying to do is make marketing easy for ourselves. and by using the right keywords, we are then attracting the right people to to our content. and then from there, take them on this journey. right? so so in a way yeah, it's it's this resonance that i that i always talk about, and i i couldn't imagine a more fun way than just have people come to your website and then sign up to your newsletter and without having to do, something constantly. yes. you have to create the content, but that usually then that sits there and hopefully you get a good keyword that just keeps getting the people coming back and back. right? Kelly: it has longevity. yeah. that's what seo is so powerful for and getting those news at the sign ups, as you say. and, oh, i was i suddenly thought of something then, but i it's it's completely gone out of my mind because i'm not seeing you. Sarah: they'll come back. yeah. yeah. yeah. so in a way, what we're doing is we're playing matchmaking. we're trying to, you know, attract the right audience and and and use the right keywords for that. so so maybe to me, what it sounds like understanding your audience is actually the first and bigger step to to then figuring out, well, what are my keywords? usually, when you talk to keywords to new entrepreneurs, they just think of, you know, let's say they're a hair salon in, you know, lausanne. well, they think their keyword is hair salon in in lausanne. right? but those are not well, okay. for a hair salon, i don't know if you've ever worked with one, but that's kind of difficult difficult example. Kelly: i know exactly what you're getting at, though. and it's actually what i was thinking about, and i just forgot. but it when you're thinking about something like hair salon, lausanne, what business owner the mistake business owners make is to try to rank for a keyword that everybody else is ranking for. now there are billions of key phrases that people put into the search engines. so you don't have to try to rank for the one the same keywords as the salon next door is ranking for. you can rank for a whole different set, and you might have different values. so therefore, you can rank in different ways. and so with the workshop that we're doing, we're going to look at researching those key phrases and making sure that we find the right key phrases for us and then target them because they've got low difficulty so they're easier to rank for. does that make sense? Sarah: yeah. yeah. yeah. that's exactly what i was getting at. like, we we think, you you know, you would think that for me, a keyword is humane marketing. right? that might be, but it's probably the the one that is the the least easy to get any traction from because it has the word marketing in it and and everybody is already targeting the the word marketing. yes okay you know you have a humane, which is a little bit different, but people don't think of, putting that into the search engine. yeah. so so yeah. Kelly: so they you kind of gotta go around the houses a little bit, but you're answering the questions that the people who you're targeting would right. ask, the ones that the things that they would put into the search engines. Sarah: right. Kelly: and there's lots of ways to get around that. because if you think about so take a geographical area like your salon, you what you're trying to do is build a hub of information. so you're building information about a industry or about a certain topic, and that builds up. the search engines can see you're doing such a good job here that in the end, you will be able to rank for the set the key phrases that you want to because you've done such a good job foundationally. and that's the point. it's kind of making the effort. it's not easy. i'm not saying it is, but it can be fun because you're providing that content for your visitors. Sarah: i'm giggling quietly by myself because we were actually just talking about your haircut today yeah. before before we started recording. and so i'm like, oh, yeah. because you were complaining that it's really difficult to find a good hairdresser in france who's doing good haircuts for curly hair. so if i was a hairdresser in france, right. and i'm actually good at cutting curly hair. well, that would be an amazing keyword. right? Kelly: such a niche key phrase. exactly. Sarah: now i don't know how many, french people that maybe there's french people that was just don't have curly hair. so that's another thing that i need to find out. is there actually a market for that? but something like that is very, you know, narrow. and then maybe i can also somehow bring in more, of my values. the other thing i was thinking about in terms of hairdressers is, like, well, maybe i wanna i i wanna, resonate with an audience that doesn't wanna use chemicals. so i would, like, really make a niche case around using products that are chemical free or that are natural, you know, things like that. so so that's what then resonates with your people and real people. so Kelly: totally. and i think when you're looking at, ranking in that way so as in okay. so chemical free, if you take that and then say, okay. okay. we'll go back to the the hairdressing products, something like that. but what you could do is build up, lots of, blog posts, really good blog posts about chemical free products, but also build up lots of blog posts about hair cutting and hairdressing and things like that. and, eventually, the two cross, and then you've ended up getting that content on both of those sides. and you can do a sort of a cornerstone content kind of piece that actually links all of those together as well. so you've built up those two, yeah, areas of the industry, and that's how you build up your content and end up ranking for good good phrases. so Sarah: yeah. cool. yeah. that that's fascinating, and look forward to talking more about the the actual how to in the in the workshop. yeah. do you feel like there's a trade off between ranking well on search engines and and still staying human and and not trying to trick the engine, but still making sure, okay, my content feels very humane and and human? Kelly: yeah. there is a balance, and i know that business owners struggle with it. i really i know this. but we do actually touch on this in the workshop where i i talk through, what was my example? some people, do things, will write things like, oh, five things i do on saturday night to help my business or something like that. but you've gotta get into the mind of the person on the search engine. they're not going to type in five things sarah does on a saturday night to help her business. they're just not going to search that kind of that that sentence. mhmm. Sarah: so Kelly: you think about it different in a different way. you can, you know, how to grow my business working on a saturday night or something like that. that's a terrible example, but it's just trying to twist what you really want to write about and then what the people are actually searching for. so we go through in the workshop, we're gonna go through the, finding topics that you can actually write about, the things that you're interested in. then we look at, okay, how are we going to find what people are searching for? so do the keyword research, and then you're looking at, okay, i need to write about that. so you get those, like you get the background exploring the topics, finding the key phrases, and then, like, which ones to choose. Sarah: yeah. i i feel like yeah. tell us a little bit about keywords and whether they change with the zeitgeist. i feel like they they will, especially in the conscious business realm. right? i feel like it gets more and more yeah. it's like in the site guys now to say, you know, con like, you know, you talk about conscious websites. i call myself a conscious business code. so there's certain keywords, and i think there's actually a tool where you can see, you know, how keywords do over time and and, like, yeah, what have you seen, lately? like, what's a a hype keyword right now that people use? Kelly: oh, don't know the answer to that question. i'm trying to think. so when you say did you say guides? site guides? Sarah: zeitgeist. you know, the Kelly: zeitgeist. i don't know that one. Sarah: yeah. it's a german word for for for for saying, like, it's it's just in the air right now. like, consciousness and Kelly: awesome. yeah. Sarah: you know, kind of this this Kelly: so you sort of you're sort of talking about, i guess, key like, trends that people are Sarah: yeah. Kelly: searching for. yeah. i that actually tend to so when you're looking at a, a website so if you're looking at a very small small business website, you're not gonna be able to rank instantly or well for trending terms because, you've got so many people, to contend with. so a lot of the time, the media will get up there on the trending key phrases and things. so what you need to do is, like, put the effort in, put the groundwork in to get the website to rank well for the basis, and that's when the search engines will crawl your website frequently. and when you have got a really big website, the search engines will crawl your website hourly sometimes. the big websites, if they put a blog post up, they will rank within, like, five minutes because the search engines are crawling the content all the time. when it comes to a small business like ours, it doesn't happen so much because the search engines will crawl us less frequently. but you can use, google search console, and you can actually tell google, right, i've put a new blog post up. so it's called inspect url. you can pop it into the inspection tool, see if it's been discovered yet. if it hasn't, you can ask google to go crawl it. and that's a really good way of getting your very new content pushed out just a bit quicker. Sarah: yeah. wonderful. well, for those who are listening and maybe can't or or don't want to join us for the the workshop, they they're like, well, i'm just kinda, like, tipping my toes into seo. what would be one thing that you would recommend? like, that's just the basis of the basis that people should do for for seo and their website. Kelly: we're covering this. yay. we're covering this in part two of the workshop, and that's not a plug, honest, but it is about consistency. so the in the search engine world, it's called nap consistency, which is name, address, phone number. that's what nap stands for. and it really is about having your business name, your name, your telephone number, your opening times, your address, all of that, all consistent all across the internet. so you're not confusing search engines because humane marketing could be completely different from the humane marketing circle. even down to, you know, the word the, search engines need to understand that you are that certain business. Sarah: and Kelly: so across social media, on your bios, all of that, you need to have the correct name, the one name that you use. i drop limited off of mine. i don't know if you're a sal or, registered as yeah. and so some people just will put limited or sale on the name on the end of their name business name, and it's just not necessary unless you could you need to use it everywhere if you're going to use it in one place. but just, yeah, be consistent about the information you've put on the net. Sarah: yeah. again, such a common sense practice. but if you don't know it and you don't pay attention to it, then that's already where it starts, right, regarding yeah. your website. yeah. Kelly: yeah. exactly. i think the one thing the one takeaway is imagine if you were searching for your business, what do you see on the net? what what comes up? and then deal with those things. Sarah: yeah. it reminds me of, back in the days when i had the linkedin consultancy, and and people would come to me and, you know, say, oh, i never show my linkedin profile never shows up in a search, not on google, but on linkedin. and so i would go and search for their name, and they had, like, three different profiles under their their name. and it was so confusing, and they're like, oh, i did that because i only wanted certain people to see this. i'm like, oh my gosh. that's so confusing. Kelly: yeah. yeah. and if you're if you're confusing people yep. if you're confusing people, you're confusing the search engines, basically. yeah. and and your linkedin profile will have a lot of impact on how your website ranks and all sorts. so they all need to be consistent. Sarah: all connected. yeah. alright. well, give us a sneak preview of the workshop and what we're gonna be covering there. Kelly: cool. so we've got two parts, and we're going to try to be really, hands on with the whole thing and just make sure that, actually, when we're talking about stuff, we will have a little bit of input. we can have questions, and we're gonna have breakout rooms. so you can actually do a little bit of work. because as soon as i talk about not consistency, everyone goes off and checks their own website. so there's there there is that one. but so we've got part one, which is the keyword research, and we will be learning about exploring the topics, so doing sort of mind mapping around the topics, that you want to use on your blog and on your website. and then we'll do researching of key phrases, and then how to do it and the tools, and then which that you which to choose, so which resonate with you. and then part two is all about consistency, which i was just talking about, and that sort of reasons to be consistent, ways to be consistent, and then sort of where. so which websites and how you'd find them and how to change that information. cool. that'd be fun. yeah. yeah. Sarah: it's gonna be good. ninety minutes. so, yeah, please, if you're listening and you're like, yeah. that's exactly what i need to start off, twenty twenty five. and and then, you know, as as kelly said, sometimes for our small websites, it takes a while. so i remember we worked together, kelly, and i think a year after i started to have one keyword who's still bringing me new sign ups every every week, basically. and so Kelly: away. yeah. Sarah: yeah. and that's just like you know, that's such a good feeling because, again, it's the right people. right? i know they're already filtered because it's not just a keyword like you know marketing, it's a it's a very specific keyword that i will share during the workshop. so yeah if you want to join us all the details are at humane dot marketing forward slash workshop. it's on february fifth. and, yeah, we always, ask for a little donation because, otherwise, it's reserved to the circle members, and it actually takes place in our community. so we hope to see you there. and, personally, i can't wait. thanks so much for doing this, kelly. Kelly: i can't wait as well. so exciting. cool. Sarah: awesome. thank you. Kelly: thank you. Sarah: actually, we've got one thing, kelly. do tell people where they can find you. Kelly: oh, i'm kady webb everywhere. so it's, hard to spell, but so it's k a y d e e webb, and that's me basically all over the internet. so instagram, i hang out on a lot. so come over there. yeah. Sarah: okay. yeah. yeah. get in touch with kelly on instagram. and, and if you wanna see her live, it's during the workshop. thanks so much. Sarah1: i hope you got some great value from listening to this episode. find out more about kaly at k d dot net. that's k a y d e e dot net. or even better, join us for the collab workshop on february fifth in our community by signing up at humane dot marketing forward slash workshop. and if you're looking for others who think like you and, want to do marketing just like that, then why not join us in the humane marketing circle? and you get access to these workshops for free, and we also host regular community calls led by our members. so find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash circle. you find the show notes of this episode at humane dot marketing forward slash h h m two zero two. and on this beautiful page, you'll also find a series of free offers, the humane business manifesto, as well as my two books, marketing like we're human and selling like we're human. and soon, my third book, business like we're human. still finalizing things. thanks so much for listening and being part of a generation of marketers who cares for yourself, your clients, and the planet. we are change makers before we are marketers. so go be the change you want to see in the world. speak soon.

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