THIS SHIT IS UNCOMFORTABLE And that’s okay. It’s okay that you’re learning. It’s okay that you’re taking steps into new territory. It’s okay that you don’t feel like the confident, courageous, badass self like you do when you’re in your comfort zone. It’s okay that you don’t know what to say or when. It’s okay that you’ll probably make mistakes. You’re learning. Just like me. Just like many of us.

One of my post-school-bus rituals is to walk the dog around my property and let my thoughts gather themselves into coherence. ICYMI we live on a 3-acre permaculture education centre. We host workshops. We raise birds and skills and community. It’s quite dreamy and the morning walk has animal tracks and barn cats and the occasional deer spotting but that isn’t the point of this email. The point is, the other morning I was wandering...

Fuck The Hustle. There. I said it. When you start your business, there is a lot of pressure to grow quickly, scale fast, and hustle until you drop. So much of our community is about the hustle. We wear the t-shirts. We drink out of the coffee mugs. We celebrate it in the messages from sun-tanned millionaires on yachts who say, “You too can earn eleventy-gajillion dollars; just do as I did”. This hustle plays...

Fellow white women. Hi.I feel uncomfortable. I was brought up probably in a similar way to you: don’t talk back, don’t raise your voice, be nice. And yet as a parent to a little girl, I have a lot of uncomfortable conversations about the difference between nice and good. Good people aren’t always nice. Good people speak up. Good people stand up for others when there is no benefit to them or even at risk...

Go, team sports! You probably already know this but I’ve never been a particularly sporty person. I played t-ball for one season and spent a lot of time in the outfield happily picking dandelions. There were the few years where I did competitive swimming which arguably, is one of the most introverted sports out there (“just swim in that direction and don’t talk to anyone” got it). So when I saw my first roller derby...

  I need to talk to you about your perfectionism.   How do I know you’re a perfectionist? I don’t...and yet I have an inkling I might be right about it. From the conversations I’ve had with clients, acquaintances, and business friends over the years, I know that I am not alone in my perfectionism. In fact, without a formal survey, I’d say at least 90% of the people who come through my door identify...

  You wear a lot of hats. As a entrepreneur, you’re the marketing team, the admin staff, the book balancer, the CEO, the tech department, and the whatever-is-needed-next’er. You know how easy it is to get caught up in the hustle and bustle. Long days, late nights, full weekends. Sure, it’s a fast pace but you’re keeping up and that’s the point, right? That’s how you become successful, yes?   Well, no. That’s actually a...

  A little secret about me: I love how social media gives us a look into each other's lives. I love that we can get a sense of someone simply by scrolling their Instagram feed.    As an entrepreneur, social media helps me get my brand out there, connect with my community, and attract potential clients. Though like anything, social media has its drawbacks and one in particular has been really getting under my skin:...