Calm & Colorful: Not Your Average MBA Diaries

This week I'm taking you behind the scenes of my MBA journey and sharing what it's really like to build a business from the ground up. Over the past few weeks, I've completed the Pivot Accelerator, conducted customer discovery interviews, refined my ideas, and made my very first sale. Surprisingly, the biggest lesson wasn't about making money—it was about listening. In this episode, I share: What...

This week has been intense in the best possible way. For the Pivot Accelerator, I had class on Monday, class on Thursday, office hours on Saturday, and eight interviews scheduled across the weekend. By the time I walk into tomorrow's class, I'll have completed all five interviews required for the assignment—and then some. One of the biggest wins this week wasn't just the interviews. It was finally...

A real-time reflection from inside a 2-week pivot accelerator: realizing the real problem wasn’t the customer interviews—it was the lack of hyper-specific problem focus. Breaking down how broad targeting diluted feedback, why “3-cycle testing” changes everything, and what it looks like to rebuild clarity through sharper customer discovery, MVP thinking, and ruthless niche selection.

In this episode, I’m sharing a very real behind-the-scenes update on business, burnout, hormones, motherhood, messaging, and feeling completely stuck. I talk about: realizing there’s a certain time each month where my confidence drops and everything in my business suddenly feels confusing, the HUGE aha moment I had with my mentor about how my messaging accidentally drifted into “I can fix you” ene...

For months, I’ve been questioning whether I should pivot my business, shut down my classes, or completely change direction. On paper, some things aren’t working. The numbers don’t fully work yet. The classes aren’t truly profitable yet. And after running the viability calculator with my mentor, I had a moment where I thought: “Why hasn’t anyone told me to pivot?” But this episode turned into somet...

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Curious about Oneday MBA — the program I talk about throughout this show? Check it out here: https://oneday.org/us/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=jessica-brittani-referral Subscribe so you don't miss the messy middle of building a business as a mom. Calm & Colorful: https://www.calmandcolorful.com Join the free Calm & Colorful Circle community for founde...

The Moment Everything Clicked in My Business (Hot Seat Breakdown) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Curious about Oneday MBA — the program I talk about throughout this show? Check it out here: https://oneday.org/us/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=jessica-brittani-referral Subscribe so you don't miss the messy middle of building a business as a mom. Calm & Colorful: https://www.calmandcolo...

The last few months have felt like a roller coaster. My toddler has been healing, my body is now moving through its own healing process, and my plate has been completely full with two part-time jobs, my MBA program, and building Calm & Colorful. In this episode, I share the behind-the-scenes of a big decision I made, stepping away from one of my jobs to create space to fully focus on my business a...

This week something shifted. Not because of a new strategy. Not because of a new offer. Not because of another course or checklist. Ownership. In this episode, I share the honest behind-the-scenes of two mentor calls that were only one week apart — and how I went from toe-dipping around responsibility to fully stepping through what my mentor calls “the gate.” We talk about: Why I was doing the bar...

In this episode, I’m sharing a very real moment from my journey inside the One Day MBA, not the highlight reel, but the messy middle. I talk about what it feels like to set a big goal, like becoming one of the top students in the program, and then face the gut punch of realizing I didn’t show up the way I promised myself I would. Missing a deadline. Avoiding marketing. Feeling overwhelmed. Getting...

In this end-of-January update, I share an honest look at navigating exhaustion, motherhood, business growth, and self-sabotage, all in the middle of a snowstorm. From starting therapy through One Day MBA, to being called out on avoidance, to reframing guilt, capacity, and leadership, this episode is about choosing forward motion even when it’s messy. I also share a marketing win, new experiments I...

In this episode, I’m reflecting honestly on the first night of the Calm & Colorful Co-Regulation Series. What went well. What didn’t quite land yet. And what that taught me about holding space for parents and young children in real life, not theory. I talk about community showing up in unexpected ways, the power of story time, where structure matters more than freedom, and why “good, not great” is...

Mid-January check-in, and a lot has shifted. In this episode, I share what it was like landing in the ER over winter break with double vision, being told I’m “healthy, just tired,” and what changed when I chose to actually listen to my body instead of pushing through. I talk about honoring rest, riding unexpected waves of energy, and launching my very first in-person emotional co-regulation suppor...

This episode is a pause and a check-in. I’m sharing reflections from our first full One Day MBA community event, the first time founders from all stages of the program came together in one space. Not just my November cohort, but founders who are brand new, founders deep in the work, and founders just weeks away from graduating. Led by mentor Brian, the conversation wasn’t about tactics or growth h...

This episode came directly from a conversation I had this morning with Ranbir, the founder of One Day MBA. Seven weeks into the program, deep in customer interviews, heat maps, and idea testing, this conversation helped me see my work and my assumptions more clearly. We talked about what “deep pain” actually means, why talking to everyone can dilute your signal, and how patience is one of the most...

Seven weeks into One Day MBA, something unexpected happened. The founder of the program, Ranbir, personally hopped on a call with me, not to sell, not to onboard, and not because he had to, but to genuinely check in on how my customer discovery process was going and to listen. In this episode, I share why that moment mattered so much to me as a founder and why it says everything about the culture...

In this raw and very real episode, I share what happened after the vendor event that left me crying, doubting everything, and wondering if I was even cut out for this whole “founder” life. Spoiler: I learned SO much more than I expected. I take you inside my debrief with my mentor, Heather, where we broke down not just what happened at the event, but also the emotions behind it — why I cried, why...

In this deeply honest episode, I take you behind the scenes of my biggest experiment yet — a vendor event I believed would be the turning point for Calm & Colorful. I share the real numbers, the unexpected heartbreaks, the toddler tears, the moments that made me question everything, and the powerful reflections that came afterward. From spending more than planned, to struggling to attract the righ...

Jessica shares a quiet, powerful moment of being truly seen by a longtime friend — someone who has witnessed her through teaching days, heartbreak, healing, motherhood, and the growth of Calm & Colorful. A simple “I’m so proud of you” becomes a reminder that she is capable, equipped, and meant for this work. This episode explores friendship, self-doubt, and the beauty of realizing just how far you...

In this episode, I walk through the exact steps I’m taking to create immediate revenue in my business thanks to my mentor’s guidance. From narrowing my top delivery mechanisms to running evidence-based customer discovery calls, this is the behind-the-scenes of how my Plan A is forming in real time. Let’s Stay Calm & Colorful Together Explore my books, audio tools, and mama support at www.calmandco...

The very first orientation for the One Day MBA program just happened — and WOW. Seven hours of next-level strategy, mindset work, and community that didn't feel long at all. This episode is a raw, real-time brain dump of everything I learned, felt, and committed to on day one of this 18-month journey. This podcast is unfiltered, unedited, and fully alive. Just like this season of my business. Let’...

After months of rest and surrender, I'm back with a major update: I've started my MBA with One Day! In this episode, I share my September-October reset, why I chose presence over pressure, and how I'm building systems to balance motherhood, business, and grad school. From audiobooks during Fit4Mom drives to night weaning challenges with Korbin, this is the real, messy, exciting beginning of my MBA...

Frank Schneider just dropped the framework that's rewiring how I think about business. It's called "Old Game New Game" and it's the difference between fighting for attention in a crowded market versus leading people through a necessary shift they're already feeling. This isn't about creating fake urgency. This is about recognizing real shifts happening in your industry and positioning yourself as...

Ever feel like you're drowning in your own good ideas? Like you have SO many dreams for your business but you're stuck in what I'm calling "the confusion state"? That's exactly where I'm at this week. In this unfiltered voice note, I'm sharing: My scattered collection of current offers (4 books, 4 courses, coaching, and more) The parking lot list of BIG dreams - from amusement parks that teach cop...

Real talk time, beautiful human. Ever feel like you're drowning in your own good ideas? Like you have SO many dreams for your business but you're stuck in what I'm calling "the confusion state"? That's exactly where I'm at this week. In this unfiltered voice note, I'm sharing: My scattered collection of current offers (4 books, 4 courses, coaching, and more) The parking lot list of BIG dreams - fr...