Unemployed & Afraid

The magic of these personal stories of business-building is that you sometimes hear things that just properly land for you, on a deeply personal level.  At the very least you hear something that feels similar to the experience you’ve had, or are having, that gives you a little piece of yourself back - and enough courage to keep going.   If you’re building a business, it’s highly likely you’ll have...

Laura McConnell Conti is co-founder of #GoKindly, a high-quality bedding basics brand, BCorp, and social Enterprise making the world kinder by donating 50% of profits to women in need. In this episode Laura shares why she built her business without knowing what product or brand would be the vessel, instead focusing on the operating model first… You see, she knew what type of business she wanted to...

Welcome to another Social Stories episode, where our community of business builders share stories of key moments and evolutions within their own business building journey. This week the community are sharing their answer to “What’s been your hardest lesson as a business owner?” We hear about: Beating down the scarcity complexes and charging what you deserve Being careful in who you take advice fro...

Working crazy hours to build your business, making hundreds of scary decisions, and putting yourself out there to build an engaged audience – your guests today absolutely get the business building feels!   Jacinta and Alicia are sisters building the most magical business, The Little Potion co. and on today’s episode we chat about their experience: Working with family Waiting to take the leap to go...

Welcome to another social stories episode, where our community of business builders share stories of key moments and evolutions within their own business building journey. This week the community are answering the curly question of "How did you finance your business?"* An epic one, and a bit of a risk by me as I could have had crickets and ended up filling your ears with just my stories and rambli...

Welcome to you brave human, out there building your brand and your business, or even just thinking about getting started – we’re here to support you on the journey by sharing the no bullsh*t experience. In this chat we hear from Shelley Johnson about her experience setting up her own unique HR consulting firm, super successful podcast, and now her very first book which is a banger. It’s called Sor...

Welcome to the very first social stories episode, where each week our community of business builders share stories of key moments and evolutions within their own business building journey.  To kick us off, the community are answering the question "How did you make your first sale?"   We hear about straight up rejection, family and friends coming to our rescue, product fails, offering freebies and...

Where are you at with your business? Are you in a growth spurt where you’re flying along feeling busy but inspired? Are you suffering a vulnerability hangover after putting something out into the world? Are you doubting your every decision and simultaneously suffering from decision fatigue? We all get those feels, that’s why this podcast is about embracing the journey for all its rollercoaster of...

This episode is filled with deeply insightful and relatable reflections on the journey that is starting and running a business. Tegan, owner of Stump & Co., and all that she shares, is a legit truth bomb. We talk about having the courage to keep asking for what you want, even if you get told no. About working so hard, to the point of exhaustion, because that’s what you think you need to do to...

Sometimes you find yourself swinging between big ideas and actions in your business, and the desire to pull back into your shell like a little turtle – so if you need some inspo to get out of your shell and back into the game, this chat is for you. Laura Elizabeth is Director of publishing house Maven Press , a Multi bestselling Author and Publisher, Creatress of Kuntea , owner of Laura Elizabeth...

So much genuine love goes into creating and growing business ventures, it’s arguably one of the strangest things to get used to - how passionately you feel the frustration, the excitement, the devastation – the whole gamut of human emotions that you experience through the process. Today’s story is about building a business you love passionately, only to have outside forces change everything, then...

In business, you really do just have to keep thinking bigger… Thinking big and taking action in your business is the theme of this episode with my incredible guest Michelle Akhidenor, CEO of branded podcast agency The Peers Project, Australia’s only BIPOC, female-led podcast agency (and 2021 Australian Podcast Awards Finalists), who create podcasts imbedded in cultural conversations for visionary...

If what you’re doing right now was the only work you do for the rest of your career, would you be happy with that? Wade Kingsley is a Creativity Coach, Consultant, Facilitator and founder of The Ideas Business - who help businesses use creative thinking to solve problems – and he once asked himself this very same question. In this chat we talk about Wade’s journey of creating and evolving his busi...

It’s me your host, Kim Kerton, in my very first solo ep! In this chat today I’m sharing my thoughts on: How necessary self-promotion is at all levels, regardless of how awkward it feels My mantra to keep moving, it’s a goodie Why it’s important to block out the noise and be your own inspiration My favourite / most challenging hurdle for self-growth And what I’m working on (including a scary goal-s...

Through this chat you can't help but think, if only every CEO thought like this! And even if you’re not yet at that point, or even managing a team, there is so much to learn from Mason Taylor, CEO of SuperFeast, about the approach to your role and your business, for today you and the future you. SuperFeast is Australia's leading supplier of Daoist tonic herbs and mushrooms – helping thousands of p...

So, what’s it like to go from a 2k investment into 150 products, to packing 20k worth of orders in a day? Nadia invites us into the chaos. Nadia Stamp is founder of DIPD Nails, media personality and fellow Adelaide gal, who shares with us how a chance meeting, mid-airport meltdown, turned into a business with a 3MIL turnover. Nadia shares so much more than her business journey in this episode, she...

Co-Founder of Phoenix + River Jaclyn Shaw on starting a kids fashion label. In this chat we talk about everything it’s taken to build this business and brand with two kids and a job, and the value of balancing creativity with business planning, research and some serious time management. Jaclyn Shaw is founder of the newly launched Phoenix + River, a genderless, trans-seasonal surf and streetwear b...

Welcome back to Unemployed & Afraid for a big whack of inspiring stories on the gloriously challenging journey of creating and sustaining a business and brand. Today I have the most wonderful supporter of the show and long-time listener Tessa Marie, an Intuitive Abstract Landscape Artist based in the gorgeous Adelaide Hills. Art has been part of her life for a long time, but only recently a fu...

If you’ve been on this pod with me for a while you’ll know how much I love getting into the stuff we just don’t talk about often enough, and we’re #blessed that my guest today, Leah Selfe, The Productivity Queen, is 100% down to go there with me. In this chat we talk about… Being driven to succeed and create a life that truly serves you and your family The challenges she faces in doing that as a s...

Mary’s story is one of life and business being integrated into a lesson of learning, unlearning, growing and serving humans to be in their own personal power by the work done on ourselves, and in the world. My guest is the incredible thought leader Mary C Dwyer, CEO and Founding Director of Impact Solutions International, Author of the powerful book titled The Final Act of Grace , a moving memoir...

Ash Vallis, Designer and Founder of Summi Summi, is super real, funny and nails the vibe of what it means to go after something that’s speaking to you, no matter how messy it gets along the way, and shows how much the mess is worth it. This episode had me lol’ing away and nodding furiously when I was packaging it up for you, we chat about how a creative spark can start one way then end up very dif...

In this episode Georgie Woskett and Elliot Grafton share the ins and outs of partnering together in business, the power of networking, goal setting and trusting your instincts - these two are so inspiring in the way they make a plan, support each other and then absolutely send it (provided it doesn’t pose a risk to others of course.. more on that in our chat). The dynamically creative duo, Elliot...

My guest today is an entrepreneur through and through and I just find her energy so contagious… Director of The Social Impact Alisha Marfatia and I talk about going in hard to try something new, building on it as you go and continually pushing well outside the comfort zone. We also talk about the seriousness of burnout, why it’s so important to be considering your longevity over everything, and th...

Have you taken a moment for some self-care today, whatever that might look like for you? That question is inspired by my guest today who is all about bringing some much needed self-care to the people who need it. It’s a journey that encapsulates all of my favourite things about going full-force at life, career and change – how a big dream at one age can be the thing that helps you achieve a totall...

Stef is a Sydney based, self-taught artist currently creating an engaging blend of photography, digital art and spoken word poetry into a unique collection of NFT’s that are blowing up the digital world. She has so much wisdom and good vibes to share, we talk about the challenge and opportunity in transitioning from one thing into another, how intense it is learning all of the macro and micro thin...