I Can't Hustle Any Harder Than This

In this episode, host Rachael Wonderlin speaks with Dr. Julie Hanks, a licensed therapist, author, and featured expert in HBO's Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence, about how "helping people help people" can become a dangerous trap when therapy language, faith, and unregulated coaching collide. Together, Rachael and Dr. Hanks unpack the rise and fallout of Jodi Hildebrandt's coaching empire,...

In this episode, host Rachael Wonderlin is joined by marketing strategist, podcast host, and business coach Betsy Leonidas for an honest conversation about hiring a coach too early — and the broader realities of building a sustainable business. What begins as a discussion about coaching quickly expands into a deeper exploration of entrepreneurship myths, personal branding fears, product-based vs....

In this episode, hosts Rachael Wonderlin and Natalie De Paz welcome back returning guest Anna Failla for a candid follow-up on her time inside Devil Corp, and more importantly, the fallout after she left.   Anna previously shared how she was recruited into what's widely referred to online as "Devil Corp," a shadowy, pyramid-shaped sales ecosystem operating through rotating LLCs. This conversation...

In this episode, host Rachael Wonderlin sits down with networking powerhouse Emily Merrell, a business coach, marketing strategist, and founder of Second Degree Society, to unpack what actually makes networking work for entrepreneurs today. Emily shares her journey from the 2008 recession to building her own global networking community, how she transitioned into coaching without a traditional cert...

In this episode, host Rachael Wonderlin sits down with award-winning journalist and author Stefanie O'Connell for a razor-sharp conversation about tradwife culture, gendered labor, and why women are still penalized for ambition.  Stefanie, whose forthcoming book The Ambition Penalty debunks the myths surrounding women's work, money, and power, breaks down the rise of the "tradwife" aesthetic, the...

In this episode, host Rachael Wonderlin sits down with returning guest Leah Peysha, a former stay-at-home mom turned corrections officer, to unpack one of the most predatory corners of the self-improvement industry: fitness MLMs. From Instagram hashtags like #FitMom and #BoyMom to auto-pay "coaching" subscriptions that never end, Leah shares how she was targeted by a recruiter from a fitness congl...

In this episode, hosts Rachael Wonderlin and Emily Naples sit down with Vancouver-based content creator and YouTuber Danielle Ryan, known for her viral commentary on the "coaches coaching coaches" economy. Danielle pulls back the curtain on how the girlboss era morphed into an online coaching pyramid, complete with fake income claims, toxic positivity, and a "keep investing in yourself" mentality....

In this episode, hosts Rachael Wonderlin and Emily Naples sit down with clarity business coach Anna Ludwinowski – a four-time founder – to talk about the difference between real coaching and scammy promises. Anna breaks down why "I'll 10x your revenue" is a red flag, how unethical coaches prey on vulnerability, and why most founders don't need a "scale" plan. What they do need is foundational clar...

In this episode, hosts Rachael Wonderlin and Emily Naples sit down with trainer-turned-founder Rachel Ridgeway to talk about the messy middle of building online: niching down, going viral to 100K+, and realizing growth can pull you away from the community you're meant to serve. Rachel R. shares how she vetted (and benefited from) an early business coach, why she turned down most brand deals, and w...

"Our renter starts calling us on FaceTime, telling us that the toilet is overflowing and how they're trying to remove the toilet. We're like, 'Uh, don't remove the toilet!" Then they say, 'There's so much water, there's so much water everywhere! We need another unit!'" Kara Wonderlin and Shaddy Mzeghet met in Miami in 2020 and, shortly after they began dating, started running businesses together....

Meet Connie Feda, Co-Founder of Cookie Cookie Ice Cream Company in Pittsburgh, PA, a company that trains individuals living with disabilities how to bake, engage with others in a service role, and get involved with the community.  Connie is a mom of six kids and she started Cookie Cookie Ice Cream to find a place for her daughter with Down's Syndrome—now 26 years old—to work. "We couldn't find a p...

"I went home and I opened my laptop and thought, 'I'm going to find a new job.' I was on Indeed for about five minutes before I realized, I can't do this again—I can't go work for someone else. I'm going to leverage this blog I've built and turn it into a dementia consulting business." Rachael Wonderlin started Dementia By Day as a blog in 2014 and turned it into a consulting business in 2016 afte...

"It was the first night of our vacation and I looked at my husband and said, 'I hate my business and I don't want to do this anymore.'" Amanda Nowak and Rachael met years ago when Amanda owned a successful, 7-figure senior living-based design business. From the outside, everything looked perfect, but on the inside, Amanda was suffering. "I was ashamed of how I felt about my business," she says. Am...

On this episode of I Can't Hustle Any Harder Than This, we talk to Nick and Kat Walker, the owners of Burgh Bus - Pittsburgh's best and most unique experience on wheels!   The Burgh Bus offers interactive comedy shows, themed tours, private party rentals and more. Find out how Nick and Kat got started and all the twists and turns along the way (including some of their craziest passengers!). To lea...

"I was working for a government contracting company that promised me all the talks of the government shutting down would never happen. But when they did indeed shut down and then reopened, they'd changed the parameters of our contract and I was no longer needed. So I said, 'I'm not going to work for anybody ever again because you can't trust, you have no control.'" Mindy McHale had a "late in life...

On episode 11 of I Can't Hustle Any Harder Than This, we talk to Candice Komar, partner in the family law firm of Pollock Begg. Candice works in family law—primarily in divorce—and that's why we wanted to talk to her about the business of getting divorced: what's involved, who gets divorced and when, how she got into family law, and much, much more. Candice has been practicing law for almost 40 ye...

On this episode of I Can't Hustle Any Harder Than This #podcast join us as we interview Zack Roach, our friend and #realtor as we talk about how difficult it actually is to get a real estate license. "When did you decide to become a real estate agent?" "When my wife showed me her pregnancy test." We've known Zack for years from #improv and #sketchcomedy and enjoy some beverages as we dive into the...

"It started on Instagram. This woman commented on my photo about a breakfast shake, 'Way to go mom!' For the next month, on every picture, she'd comment something smart underneath it. That turned into her reaching out to me. Next thing you know, I ended up getting sucked into her pyramid scheme. I spent so much money. I got suckered into buying the powder and the DVDs..." Being a stay-at-home mom...

On this episode of I CAN'T HUSTLE ANY HARDER THAN THIS, we talk with Matt Reiners, an experienced entrepreneur and salesperson. We talk about where he's gotten some great ideas, how he developed his companies, LinkedIn, startup culture, sales, silent discos, and, our favorite topic...GHOSTING.  When Matt was 22, he was a "glorified personable robot" Fortune 500 company doing telemarketing sales. A...

WOW. We had so much fun interviewing Anna about her experience in #DevilCorp that we knew we had to do it again! Before tuning into Part Two, check out Part One. Shortly after graduating college, Anna was offered a job with a "marketing company" who promised that, if she worked hard enough, she could one day become a BUSINESS OWNER! We also talked about Sarah Edmondson's book, SCARRED, and everyth...

On this episode of I CAN'T HUSTLE ANY HARDER THAN THIS, we talk with Leah Steele of Searching for Serenity about #burnout , #entrepreneurship , and the myth of the six-figure month (at least how many business owners describe it!) As Leah says on her site, "I am a reformed stress addict, former insomniac, running a constant inner monologue of stress and distress. Exhausting was the defining word of...

"It turned out that there wasn't an apartment for each of us, paid for by the company, like they said there would be. There were four of us, sleeping on air mattresses, in a one-bedroom apartment." Join us as we talk to Anna Faila about her experience in a business cult, "DevilCorp," (real name changed, of course) during her early 20s. When Anna and I first started talking about entrepreneurship,...

On this episode of I Can't Hustle Any Harder Than This (find us on Instagram at @cant_hustleanyharder)! we interview Kyle Hupman, sound mixer and founder of Audio412. Kyle was inspired by #taylorswift and the #erastour when realized JUST HOW LONG Taylor has been hustling, creating, and growing her empire. After that concert, Kyle was inspired to finally start putting his dreams and ideas out into...

Mike Peditto lost his job after only six weeks. Instead of throwing himself back into the job hunt the way we all do (sitting at a laptop for hours on end), Mike started sharing his progress—as a seasoned recruiter himself—on TikTok. Mike's relatable content and smart tips quickly helped him amass a large following on the platform, along with success on Instagram and LinkedIn. Y ou can find him on...

"Make $900 a day sitting on your couch selling digital products!!!" ....Or not? Welcome to the first episode of I CAN'T HUSTLE ANY HARDER THAN THIS!  On this episode, hosts Rachael Wonderlin (CEO of Dementia By Day) and Emily Naples (Corporately employed, but self-employment curious) interview Natalie De Paz (Operations Director at Dementia By Day) about "passive income" and "digital product downl...