When I was growing up, big cities were the center of everything new and exciting. I remember going to New York City as a young person and staring at people on the street wearing the coolest newest fashion. I went to Miami and felt like I traveled to another Universe. Even a trip to Washington DC felt like any person in a suit could be someone powerful. I associated big cities as to where you went if you wanted to build something big. Fast forward to the age of the internet and I have noticed a s...
Apr 13, 2021•49 min
Today my guest is breaking a rule that I never thought would come up on this show. Nancy Brown is the co-founder of BookClubz, an online platform that helps you organize your book club for free. BookClubz is a fast-growing company, one that essentially is competing with the giants Amazon and Good Reads–huge players in the market. And the rule they are breaking... They are doing it while playing nice! BookClubz is breaking stereotypes and rules by being true to who they are and believing that you...
Apr 06, 2021•41 min
I realize my tagline for this episode is a little cryptic, but when I was listening to this interview this idea of a space that brings people together kept coming back in my mind again and again. There are some people who are really good at holding space - and what I mean by that is making people feel comfortable, seen, heard, and valued. These might not feel like tangible things, but I assure you, they absolutely are. Space doesn't always mean a physical space with four walls. Sometimes it is, ...
Mar 16, 2021•37 min
I have a confession to make, or maybe a proclamation, that I’m super proud of. I am not afraid to email anyone. I can cold call with the very best of them and just ask for what I want to ask for. This skill has served me super well in my life and, more specifically, today because it is how I am connected with our guest, Marissa Mullen. She is someone I read about on the internet. I’ve been following and drooling over her Instagram account for years and I have been a superfan, even though we don’...
Mar 02, 2021•54 min
When I was in college, I did an internship with a company called Honest Tea. You may have heard of it after Coca-Cola bought it and made it mainstream. But when I was there, packing boxes of glass bottles on the floor, driving from one organic market to another doing tastings, they were still very much a startup. The idea of knowing where your food came from was still not a thing. The founder of Honest Tea was one of the main voices pushing for Organic labeling. He personally visited each farm w...
Feb 23, 2021•35 min
We are living in a time where “vulnerability” and “authenticity” are buzz words, thrown around like confetti. We say we admire vulnerability in our leaders and we want the influencers we follow on the internet to be “authentic”. And I have heard more than once that the best way to communicate is to be your authentic self. But I am here to argue that it is still unsafe for many people to truly be their vulnerable, authentic selves—especially on the internet where they can quite literally be threa...
Feb 16, 2021•34 min
Always on this show, we are talking with women who are doing things differently. But as I have come to learn after talking to hundreds of women about their personal journey, not everyone considers themselves a Rule Breaker. There are two main reasons for this. Some of the people I interview are so unplugged from the expectations of others that they don’t even think about it. And others are sometimes so focused on what they want that the rules are insignificant. My guest today is a perfect exampl...
Feb 09, 2021•50 min
This episode is really for my marketing junkies and small business owners. My guest today is a website designer and brilliant brand strategist who truly was a disruptor in the website template design business back in 2013 and continues to attract influential clients for her one of a kind websites. Jen Olmstead, the co-founder of Tonic Site Shop , has truly been living the life that so many of us aspire to have. She lives in the middle of nowhere with her three kids and handsome husband. And Jen ...
Feb 02, 2021•40 min
I’m just going to say this right away (and if you are offended by it, you can go back to your podcast player and pick another episode): Disney movies messed us up. Of course, I still love them. But the movies I grew up watching were extremely problematic. The Little Mermaid… Beauty and the Beast… Cinderella… These are NOT stories we should be making for children. Truthfully, it wasn’t until recently that I realized it wasn’t just the indirect messages—like being a helpless girl so a guy can save...
Jan 26, 2021•41 min
Obvi on this podcast, we are talking about breaking rules—but the more episodes we do, the more I realize so many of these so-called rules are unspoken ones. These rules are codes of conduct that no one ever asked me to review and sign, but it seems if I don’t meet these guidelines, there will be consequences. One of those unspoken rules is “don’t talk about money.” Don’t let other people know how much you make. Don’t be greedy and ask for more. Money is dirty. Money is bad. Wanting to make more...
Jan 19, 2021•41 min
I want to say a thank you to the patron saint of vulnerability, Brené Brown . Thank you for making it acceptable to talk about our feelings and share our experiences, especially in the workplace. I know we still have a long way to go, but I get very excited when I hear a story of someone opening up about something personal at work and having it go well for them. Many of us have to put on a shield when we go to work. Keep our personal lives to ourselves and show no weakness, am I right? God forbi...
Jan 12, 2021•45 min
Before you move forward, you have to look back. It doesn’t need to be for long and you don’t have to mull it over forever. Looking back is one of the best ways to create your future because you can see what worked, what didn’t, and what you want to create MORE of. In the spirit of the new year and with some exciting things down the line for Rebelle, I’m doing something a little different on today’s episode. That’s why I called up my college roommate, dear friend, and the chapter founder of the L...
Jan 05, 2021•41 min
“So, what do you do?” I realize it’s just a question that people ask when they don’t know how to get the conversation started but I hate this question. I do lots of things. I argue with my kids to put their shoes on. I drink chai lattes. I create content for working women. I make a podcast. I write emails. Sometimes, I take naps! But I know that’s not the answer people want when they ask this question. They want a simple answer like: I’m an accountant… or I’m a librarian… or I’m a graphic design...
Dec 29, 2020•34 min
You all might not know this about me, but I am a super prude. I did not grow up talking about S-E-X. When me and my friends play Cards Against Humanity, my face is so red. I can't breathe from laughing and embarrassment--especially if I have to say a gross word. I know this aversion to talking about sex is not serving me. That’s why I'm super drawn to people who are really confident in their sexuality and talking about sexual health. My guest today is confident in her sexuality, but she's more i...
Dec 22, 2020•40 min
I get SO jazzed when I get to speak with women who are much further along in their career than I am. There is incredible wisdom to gain from women who have climbed their way up the success mountain in a super competitive industry and, once they got there, took a look around and said: Nah! I’m good! My guest today did exactly that. Jennifer Justice built a career and a solid reputation for negotiating deals for the best of the best. She helped Jay-Z build Roc Nation. She was Beyonce’s personal at...
Dec 15, 2020•29 min
Before I started Rebelle, I had a pretty extravagant breakdown. My weight dropped below a hundred pounds. I couldn’t get up off the floor—let alone out of bed. And I would break out into uncontrollable sobs in line at the grocery store. I was beyond burned out. You see, I had learned that to be successful, you had to give absolutely everything—and then some! 115%. No pain, no gain. But while going through boxes and boxes of tissues, I knew (or at least I hoped) there was another way. At the time...
Dec 08, 2020•39 min
When I first learned about the Hero’s Journey, it was taught as a way to structure a story commonly used in motivational speeches and website about pages. And, to be honest, we also hear them in some of our favorite entrepreneurship podcasts. The Hero’s Journey goes something like: I made this one mistake, then I learned this one important thing—and now I’m insanely successful and everything is perfect. Truthfully, it makes for a great story—but it’s clearly not the whole story. And that’s exact...
Dec 01, 2020•53 min
You may have heard the term “find your passion” and you may have even spent some time trying to do that. I know for myself, finding my passion has been an elusive task that I can’t quite check off the to do list, because what I am interested in changes as I get older. Best selling author Elizabeth Gilbert says there are two types of people: jack hammers and hummingbirds. Jackhammers find a passion and then dig and dig and chip away at their passion completely focused until the end of time. So of...
Nov 24, 2020•41 min
When I planned the first Rebelle Conference, I created the event that I wanted to attend. I found speakers that I wanted to learn from. I scheduled workshops that I wanted to go to. And I filled our planning team with people who I always wanted to work with. People told me that I should be thinking about the customer. But what happens when you ARE the customer? Sometimes you have to follow your own experience and block out the naysayers to create what you want to see in the world, whether that’s...
Nov 17, 2020•35 min
There’s no shortage of advice out there for creatives who want to make money from their creativity. There are productivity hacks to marketing tricks to do’s and don’ts of being a freelancer. It’s a challenge to NOT get overwhelmed, sifting through all the advice that ”experts” share on how to be a successful creator. But what I’ve noticed is that rarely does this advice have anything to do with their actual creativity! Today’s guest is quite the opposite. She’s someone who has really walked the ...
Nov 10, 2020•37 min
When we think about big events, we think about drama that matches: over-the-top wedding that takes on a life of its own, wedding dress that eclipses the experience, and an overbearing friend who takes over the planning while losing track of what really matters. Okay, okay... some of these scenarios are from my favorite movies. Father Of The Bride… Sex In The City, Bridesmaids... What they all have in common is a drama-filled wedding that centers on everyone—and everything else—except for the cou...
Nov 03, 2020•45 min
There’s really no way to know how you’ll be as a parent until you become one. For me, I imagined strapping on my baby and continuing life exactly as I knew it before. Every mother I know is rolling their eyes right now. Honestly, holding onto this idea—of things continuing as normal—is one of the many reasons I had such an awful experience as a new mom. Before baby, I could do it all. I had endless energy to travel, to say yes to every opportunity, to show up for everyone who needed me. I was al...
Oct 26, 2020•53 min
Becoming a mother was one of the most difficult transitions I’ve faced in my life. Before having kids, I was what one might call a workaholic. I avoided dealing with my emotions and feelings by keeping extremely busy, working long hours, and overcommitting socially. Sound familiar? But after having my first baby and suffering from postpartum anxiety and depression, I truly had to rethink everything while working through my depression. I started going to therapy and started to understand my thoug...
Oct 26, 2020•34 min
There’s a big difference between creating a following and cultivating a community. And I think it's safe to say that most big brands are only interested in followers. They want to build big lists. They want big follower counts. They want more and more eyeballs on their product so they can sell more. It’s more about the product than it is about the people. But what if you want to break the rules, ditch the status quo, and do something bold and different instead? That’s exactly what my guest today...
Oct 26, 2020•33 min
Who—and what—comes to mind when you think of a typical CEO? Maybe it’s a white guy in a suit with a serious look on his face… or maybe you think of Steve Jobs with the black turtleneck or Mark Zuckerberg and the grey hoodie. And while those might be the typical CEOs of the past, the business world is changing and the future is female. Today’s guest–and our first one ever on the Rule Breaker podcast!—is Ellen Marie Bennett—cook turned founder and CEO of Hedley & Bennett , the leading Los Ange...
Oct 26, 2020•33 min
If you’ve checked all the boxes, done everything you were supposed to do, and still don’t feel like you’re where you want to be, it’s time to break some rules. Rule Breaker by Rebelle is the podcast for women who are rethinking everything they learned about life and work from straight-A report cards, princess movies, diet culture, and all the other ways that culture tells us who to be and how to act. Join Rebelle founder Shannon Siriano Greenwood for candid, funny, and moving conversations with ...
Oct 16, 2020•3 min
