How To Make It Work

Why is self-doubt so much more common among women — and how can we rewire our minds to be kinder to ourselves? In this episode of How to Make It Work , I sit down with mindset and alignment coach Janelle Smith. She shares personal stories that inspired her to guide women through self-doubt, and how her work with NLP, meditation, and coaching helps women find clarity, confidence, and the reassuranc...

What if work wasn’t just about productivity, but also about balance, healing, and tuning into something deeper? In this episode, I sit down with Diane Davies — a massage therapist, aromatherapist, yoga teacher, angelic reiki practitioner, tarot reader, and former social worker — to explore how she weaves wellness and spirituality into her work and life. We talk about how yoga changed her perspecti...

What does it take to run Raglan’s most iconic news publications? In this episode of How to Make it Work, I sit down with Jacqui Kay-Smith, owner and editor of the Raglan Chronicle and The Local Rag. From balancing community voices to keeping two different publications alive and thriving, Jacqui shares how she juggles storytelling, deadlines, and the heartbeat of our coastal town.

What if nutrition wasn’t about one-size-fits-all diets, but about listening to your own body? Maren Le Calvez is studying to become a clinical nutritionist while working at web design studio HNDRX — and she’s already turning her passion into practice. With a holistic, individual approach that recognises every body is different, Maren especially wants to focus on women’s health. She started out off...

What does it take to turn a love of movement into a vibrant, one-of-a-kind fitness community? This week on How to Make It Work, we meet Birgit Junni-Rietkerk, the beat-loving founder of Booty Wonderland in Raglan. From her Dutch roots to teaching high-energy classes at 30 weeks pregnant, Birgit shares how she built a safe and inclusive space where fitness meets fun.

Weight a minute… can your iPhone really weigh a cow? Turns out, yes it can. In this episode, I chat with Dan Bull and Daniel Stuart-Jones, two Raglan locals who’ve built Scanabull , a game-changing app that uses 3D imaging and AI to weigh cattle—no crates, no stress. We dive into how it works, what it could mean for farmers and the meat industry, and what it’s like building cutting-edge agri-tech...

What if your words could help shape a better world? Monica Evans is a Raglan-based writer whose storytelling bridges science, community, and environment. With bylines in Mongabay, Biographic, and Atlas Obscura, and experience working with global research institutes, Monica brings big-picture issues to life through compelling journalism. In this episode, we talk about the realities of freelancing,...

New Zealand's first profit-for-purpose doggy daycare opening soon, here in Raglan! In this episode, Cindy Randall, the powerhouse behind Floofsters, talks about how the doggy daycare will provide fun and safe care for local dogs while giving back: 100 percent of the profits go toward supporting animal welfare across Aotearoa. It is a project with heart, purpose, and a whole lot of wagging tails.

What does it take to turn a love of audio into a thriving business? Kane Power has just done that -- from working on sound files of legendary musicians to editing thousands of podcast episodes from his Raglan studio. In this episode, we talk about the art and science of podcast production, why great sound matters, and building a creative business from Raglan to the world. Kane Power knows how to m...

From folk stages to financial spreadsheets, Lynne Wilkins has done it all—and done it right here in Raglan. In this episode, we explore how Lynne turned her love for music into a lifelong creative pursuit, all while building a thriving accounting business and mentoring other creatives to make their work sustainable. We talk about juggling passion and practicality, the power of staying local, and h...

Market research, project management and storytelling to help ideas grow. In this episode I am talking to Katie Lowes, creative strategist campaigner and founder of FOHBOH, a Raglan-based business. We talk about what it takes to build a creative business, how to balance work and life in a small town and why marketing rooted in real research and community make the biggest impact. Katie also shares h...

What does it take to keep writing? In this episode, we talk with Wanda Barker, a Raglan-based writer, artist and founder of the local writers' collective Inkspillers, about the highs and lows of the writing life. Wanda shares how the long, uncertain road to publishing led her to build a community where stories can be shared, supported, and seen. We also talk about the "ghosts of writing", the idea...