Build Your Own Fairytale

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show Three observances in one week—National Entrepreneurs Day, National Princess Day, and Women’s Entrepreneurship Day—felt like the perfect excuse to celebrate what Build Your Own Fairytale is all about. When I launched the podcast in 2022, I defined a fairytale as whatever you want it to be: finding small ways to make everyday life lighter and mor...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show What happens when you're ready for a new chapter, but you're not entirely sure what that chapter looks like? After a career in fashion buying and digital marketing, Katie Mueller stepped away from work to stay home with her two boys. Years later, she found herself ready to build something of her own—even if that meant stepping outside...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show Have you ever revisited the goals you set in January—and immediately felt behind? That was my reaction when I pulled out the personal and work bingo boards I created at the beginning of the year. But once I stopped judging myself and started questioning the goals, I realized how many of them no longer deserved my time or attention. In this epis...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show Four years. 160 episodes. And a podcast I started before I even knew what I wanted to podcast about. 🤷‍♀️ 🎉  In honor of International Podcast Day, I’m looking back at what building Build Your Own Fairytale has taught me—not only about podcasting, but about starting before I felt ready, adjusting without giving up and measuring success by mor...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show I spent all summer waiting for September—the return of school-day work hours and time to focus on my business. Then it arrived with an open calendar, an empty pipeline and the immediate urge to fix everything at once. I’m sharing what happened when I finally lifted my head from maintaining the business and looked at where it was actually headed...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show Apparently, I actually did retire this summer! Back in June, I gave myself permission to do less. What I didn’t anticipate was just how quiet my business would become—or how uncomfortable I would feel when an intentionally slower summer included an entire month without client work. In this solo episode, I’m reporting back on what happened, what...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show After more than 20 years in corporate leadership at companies like Google, Amazon, Roku, and Snap, Meredith Hudson made the decision to bet on herself. Inspired by her experience as a Division I athlete and sports mom, she founded Sideline Bags—a product designed to help female athletes stay organized on and off the field. But as you'll he...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show What happens when you stop asking "Can I?" and start asking "What else can I do?" In this episode, I'm joined by Avery Fiordaliso, founder of Iron Life Coaching, whose journey from self-proclaimed non-athlete to Ironman coach is really a story about identity, confidence, and believing you're capable of more than yo...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show People often tell me I'm "so organized." But after wrapping up another busy swim team season, I found myself thinking... maybe organization isn't the real reason I've been able to stay consistent with my podcast, newsletter, clients, and even a six-year Peloton streak. In this episode, I'm sharing why I think we co...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show What happens when the career path you originally planned no longer fits the life you actually want? In this episode, I’m joined by Jamie Hass, whose journey has taken her from corporate marketing, to co-owning a childcare center for 13 years, to building a virtual coaching business designed to support women in the realities of everyday life. Th...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show  ​As summer gets underway, I've been asking myself a different question: not "What needs to get done?" but "What can stop depending on me?" In this episode, I'm sharing the hidden costs of being the person who remembers everything in your business. We'll talk about the financial leaks that happen when things f...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show What looks like a “perfect” business on the outside is rarely accidental. In this episode, I’m joined by Brooke Kromer, a luxury real estate agent based in 30A, Florida, who works with athletes, high-net-worth buyers, and investors to help them find not just a property—but a lifestyle. Brooke shares her unconventional path from growing up in th...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show This one took me a while to process. A few months ago, I ran my first-ever half marathon: the Disney Princess Half Marathon. And while I expected the experience to be about running, I realized pretty quickly it was actually about something much bigger. Trust. Trusting yourself before certainty exists. Trusting the ordinary reps. Trusting that c...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show What does it take to build something parents trust—and kids actually love? In this episode, I’m joined by Andrea Barbalich, Editorial Director of The Week Junior , a weekly news magazine designed to help kids ages 8–14 understand what’s happening in the world in a way that’s thoughtful, engaging, and age-appropriate. Andrea shares the behind-th...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show 👯‍♀️ Special Guests: Sammy & Gracie (my twin daughters) 🗓️ Recorded after Take Your Kids to Work Day 2026 This has quietly become one of my favorite episodes to record every year.  My daughters—11-year-old identical twins—have been on the podcast a few times now, and each year the conversation shifts a little as they get older, more indepe...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show Lynn Harris, a culture-shifting producer, award-winning journalist, and founder of GOLD Comedy, shares her non-linear path from journalism to comedy to building a community-driven business.  We talk about what it really looks like to run a business when you don’t fit the typical “founder” mold — from testing and growing an idea over time to the...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show You’ve had this happen before. A potential client says yes.  You send the quote, contract, or invoice… And then things go quiet. Suddenly the questions start creeping in: Did they change their mind? Did they forget? Should I follow up? This moment is incredibly common in service-based businesses — and it’s where a lot of deals quietly stall. In...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show Running a business comes with a mental load that most people don’t talk about. Not the big projects or strategic decisions — but the constant background tracking: Who still needs a follow-up. Which invoice hasn’t been paid. Whether someone signed their contract yet. Remembering when a client said they’d “get back to you.” None of these tasks ta...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show Spring cleaning isn’t about crisis. It’s about circulation. In this episode, I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes look at recording during a literal New Jersey blizzard, the decluttering session that unexpectedly boosted my energy, and a confession: I procrastinated this episode harder than I’d like to admit. Because here’s the truth — dust is just...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show You don’t always get the full five-year blueprint in business. Sometimes you get a clear season. Sometimes you get a quiet one. And sometimes you hit a speed bump and think… okay, now what? This 10-minute solo episode is a grounded reframe for those moments. Not a checklist. Not a dramatic pivot. Just a steadier way to think about uncertainty,...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show February is the season of love — and this year, I want you to turn some of that attention toward your business. ❤️  In this episode, we’re talking about what it really looks like to love your business long-term — not the honeymoon phase, not the Instagram highlight-reel version, but the kind of relationship that actually lasts. Because most bus...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show Running a business can feel a lot like working on a puzzle. You’ve got pieces everywhere — ideas, tools, workflows, client needs — and you know they’re supposed to fit together… but sometimes the picture just doesn’t feel complete. With National Puzzle Day coming up, I’m leaning into one of my favorite metaphors and breaking down how puzzles an...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show This is a special bonus episode of Build Your Own Fairytale , recorded live, in real life, while I was in Nashville with two of my favorite fellow systems strategists and business friends. What started as a casual “let’s finally get together in person” trip quickly turned into something much bigger — real conversations, honest pushback, whitebo...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show What if the hardest part of building a business isn’t the beginning… or the end — but the middle? In this episode, I’m sharing a powerful lesson that hit me in the middle of a long, sweaty run while training for my upcoming half marathon. My instructor introduced the concept of No Man’s Land — the point in a long run where you’re too far from t...

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the show As we wrap up 2025, I wanted to take a moment to pause, reflect, and celebrate — both the growth of Build Your Own Fairytale and the incredible conversations we shared this year. In this special Best of 2025 episode, I’m revisiting some of the most powerful moments from the podcast — blending guest wisdom with highlights from my most-downloaded...