The #1 Way to Scale Your Brand and Business in the Age of AI

the bossbabe podcast

In this live, unscripted episode of the Boss Babe podcast, co-hosts Natalie and Lori Harder share their personal journeys of building freedom through entrepreneurship and business growth.

Key takeaways

• Freedom is built through intentional choices, not found passively.
• Setting boundaries can cost relationships but is essential for long-term freedom and sustainability.

Main topics

• Building freedom through entrepreneurship
• The cost and value of setting boundaries

Notable quotes

"I personally did lose relationships and I would do it again."

"She was able to get out of a really hard situation at home. And that was the first time I'd ever heard the word entrepreneurship."

Conclusion

True freedom is built through deliberate choices—setting boundaries, embracing unique paths, and mastering strategic platforms

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) Welcome back to the Boss Babe podcast. So this episode wasn't recorded in a studio. It was actually recorded on a stage in a room full of women during the week that my book came out. So Lori Harder invited me to co-host a live event with her. And it was really exciting because... We've been friends for many, many years. She is the host of a podcast called Earn Your Happy, which just crossed a decade and 1600 episodes. She off the back of it has built three seven figure businesses. She's also my co founder at Glossy. And she's the person I call when I need someone to deep dive into business with me. So we did the thing that we both really love doing in front of a few hundred people. She interviewed me for the first half. I interviewed her for the second. None of this was scripted. And the theme of the day was that freedom is built, not found. And we really go into detail on what that means and how we've both built the freedom that we have. So there's a few specific moments that I want you to listen for that I really think are powerful that really changed things for me. The first is the boundaries answer. So I say out loud what setting boundaries actually cost me because I don't think it's... helpful to pretend that you just set a boundary and it's easy. I personally did lose relationships and I would do it again. The second is a sheep story in New Zealand. Now, if you've read the book, you know exactly what I mean. It's a really clear picture of what happens when you build a life outside of what people expect you to build and actually what feels really good for you. And then the third is one that I just keep thinking about. So Laurie sees more podcast pictures than anyone I know. I mean... And she'll be honest because I see a lot too. And she's like 99 % of these are terrible. And then there's one specific sentence that is like the worst sentence you can say to a podcast host. And if you want to actually get on podcasts, you need to know what this sentence is. So I really want you to listen to that piece because it's going to shift your mindset a lot. We also get into what I think is a real opportunity in the age of AI, why your audience and your distribution are probably the only moat left, and then what it looks like to start growing on Instagram now, because I promise you, it's really easy. So I hope you enjoy this live conversation. It's a slightly different kind of podcast. And I've got a couple more of these coming from the book launch, because you know what? Let's get that content out there. So with that, I hope Speaker 1 (2:27) you enjoy the episode. Speaker 1 (2:31) literally our favorite thing to do. We were just saying that in the back. I'm like, um, we get to do this. Like how many of you would love to just while we're doing it today, sit and chat with your girlfriend about like all of the things that are going on in life, the good, the bad, the ugly and have people to really talk through it. And I think that's why you and I have like, loved podcasting so much is because it's oh so selfish. We get so much out of it, which is so incredible. But I really, really just want to say how grateful we are for all of you guys coming out. And especially, we're especially excited today for Natalie's book as well, because she just launched this week. So give it up for her. She's been on like a whirlwind tour, you guys. Like we've been voice noting briefly back and forth because she's like, okay, so here's what I think. And this is how it should look. And this is what we should do. And we're just going back and forth planning. She's like, I'm going into my event. Goodbye. Speaker 1 (3:26) okay, you get up on stage and go. And that's literally what it's been like. You're like, now I'm feeding the baby. Now I'm going to bed. Now I'm going on a stage. Now I'm going, okay, here we are. And this is, so here she is. And she's taking time for all of us right now, which is so exciting. She made it. And I also want to say today, cause I'm going to, anybody love to brag on their friends or like really help their friends out. We're going to do it. Okay. So who else has like written a book or done something big in here? Who understands that you need all of the help in the world when that happens? Okay. So her New York Times bestselling possibility ends tonight. And so if you have friends that you want to buy this book for, if you want to buy two, if you want to buy five, there is a push that if we want to do it. we can help her and go online and do that and buy it for a friend. So if we want, that feels real, real nice. If not, you can take your book home and you can realize just how good it is and you're going to buy it for a friend anyway. So yes, I'm so excited. So we're going to get into it because today we are celebrating two friends with two huge milestones. And when her and I were talking about this, because she was like, you know, I'm going to launch my book and I think I'm going to do some things for it. I'm like. because I've launched a book. I was like, if you don't do something huge for this, like I literally will come find you. So I said, she did. I was like, I'm already doing this event. I don't really want to do it alone. Do you want to do it with me? So here we are. And I can't wait to chat with you about all things your book as well. So, you know, one of the first things I want to kick off because we're really going to go, you know, talk deep on your book and just some of the topics that are arising for you right now is We haven't really talked publicly about how we both together, how we both grew up in really small towns. Like we come from a lot of the same background where we didn't necessarily see a lot of entrepreneurs out there. We didn't see a lot of women doing what we want to do. How many of you did not see what you want to do now growing up? Oh my God, look around. Is that every hand? That's pretty crazy. So that's why we're all here together. But the question for you is you didn't really see that. Tell me a little bit about that story of, you know, when you knew and when you first became an entrepreneur. Speaker 2 (5:39) Yeah, I remember the exact moment. It was a careers day at school and I was having a really hard time behind the scenes. I just moved to my fourth school in one school year and I was having a really tough time. I wasn't applying myself in school. I just had this story that I wasn't smart. I wouldn't amount to anything. I just want to get through this. And we were at a careers day and there were so many people coming in and out and teaching us about what they do. And I just couldn't see myself in any of these people. And the final person... presenting that day. She came in, she had beautiful heels on and she put a bag down on the counter. It was a mulberry bays water, brown, stunning. I was like, okay, I'm listening. What is this? And she went on to tell a story about how she was in a really challenging marriage. And she was able to create financial security for herself through entrepreneurship. And it was the first time I'd ever heard the word entrepreneurship. But what I was really hearing is that she was able to get out of a really hard situation at home. And I had grown up seeing my mom in very hard situations. And the story I told myself is she's not leaving and she's putting us through this because she can't afford to leave. And so immediately I equated entrepreneurship to financial freedom. choice. And so I was 13 and I decided then and there I was going to be an entrepreneur. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I really set my heart on it. And I, and I didn't know at the time, but it was just freedom. The through line for me was freedom. And that drove me to really figure it out. That's amazing. Speaker 1 (7:07) Okay, so we just talked about your book is out now. What drove you to write this particular book? So freedom based business method, like, I know that you have been so in the trenches with your business truly growing a massive business. What has been the like, catalyst for now I need a book. And now that you've been in all of these rooms, what are some of the themes that are coming out from it? Speaker 2 (7:32) Ultimately, becoming a mom changed absolutely everything for me. You know, before that, I was running this business from a place of burnout consistently. I would burn out, have a good night's sleep and get back on it. And it just felt like if I wasn't putting my foot on the gas, this business was not growing. I felt like I could not take a breather or the business would crumble. It didn't exist without me showing up. And that was fine until it wasn't. And I actually walked away from the entire business when I had my first daughter. And when I ended up coming back, which the whole story is in the book, but when I ended up coming back and deciding I was going to buy out my co-founder and I was going to run this business on my own, I remember saying to my husband, I want to do this because I really believe there's a better way. There's a different way. I haven't been doing it that way, but I believe in myself to figure it out. And on the back of that, what I figured out and the systems that I put in place and the way in which I approached it was so fundamentally different. I wanted to write this book because I didn't want other women to have to go through the absolute identity crisis and burnout that I went through. to know that there's a better way. And it's not a book about work-life balance. It's not a book about doing this on easy mode. I do not think this exists. I think what I've built, I've built because I've put a lot of hard work into it. And I think that's incredibly important. And I think there's a way to do it where every time you level your business up, you put a system in place. That means it is secure and it can continue to compound and you're not the missing part in every single link. And so a lot of this is very tactical. It's very system-based. It's very... much. Let me show you the playbook. It doesn't mean it's always going to be easy, but hopefully hustle comes in seasons. Hopefully hustle isn't your full-time job. It comes in seasons. You can push and then you can step back. You can push, you can step back. And I think that's the way as entrepreneurs and especially as women that we work best when we really follow the creative energy and we go all in and then we step back to systemize and to stabilize. And then we put our creative energy back in. I think both of those things are incredibly important. And I wasn't really seeing it talked about. I was seeing two sides of the coin. The hustle, like hustle your ass off, work 24-7, no days off. Or the soft life CEO. I think both of them are lies, personally, right? The hustle your ass off, great. If you want to have any life outside of work, at some point that will stop working. And the soft life CEO, that's not going to work 24-7. That's not a way to build a business that actually really works and builds freedom of choice in your life. And I think we need to figure out... aligned ambition, the thing that sits in between those two things. Speaker 1 (10:06) I've always been really drawn to because I'm more of a visionary, I'm a creative, where are those people in the room? For me. Okay. So sometimes we can either we can get really overwhelmed when we hear it. But it also is like I'm eating out of her hand because all I want to do is feel structure in my business. Who gets that feeling? So I at least she sent me the book. And you know, sometimes friends send books and they're like, don't even know if you're going to read it. I'm like, no, I'm reading it. I'm almost done with it. Literally, I need it. And it's written so good because you do you do share the world of both. And a lot of people have, you know, a little bit of both in your brain. But I think that one of the things that you have taught me watching you throughout the years is freedom comes from discipline. Freedom comes from structure. Freedom comes from that frame. And if you're a visionary man, you can resist it with all that you have. It can actually feel pretty awful, but it's like taking that time. And that's really, really where the freedom comes. So when you have friends like this, and when you have this book, I'm telling you, it's, it's super valuable because we always want to be that light. airy, here's my next idea. But if you don't have the frame, it just feels like it's lost and jumbled and you actually feel frustrated, right? Like very deeply frustrated. So thanks for solving that problem. Speaker 2 (11:19) Yeah, one thing I always say, if you want a freedom based business, you need freedom giving systems. And it's really, really important because if all you do is follow shiny object syndrome, you will make a lot of progress in so many different directions. You're actually