This is a special bonus episode from our friends at the Amazon & JAR Audio podcast This Is Small Business.

This is Small Business explores the journey to success for small business owners by diving deep into the pivotal moments they have faced and conquered along the way. Brought to you by Amazon, this show is delivered through the unique perspective of a curious millennial trying to figure out what it takes to be a successful small business owner today. Episodes feature small business owners and industry experts from all walks of life who offer trends analysis, life lessons, and a different point of view. This is Small Business invites you to dig deep and find the tools you need to start, build, and grow your small business.

If there's one thing we’ve learned over the many episodes of this show, it’s that owning and operating your own business is hard. You have to overcome challenges you didn’t even know existed.

Thinking of becoming an entrepreneur or you’re wondering if you should stick it out? We have Dr. Laura Morgan Roberts, scholar, speaker and consultant, who studies the science of maximizing human potential, to guide us through. “I do think for every market need, for every human desire, there is an entrepreneur who is inspired and equipped to meet that need and to help for people to connect with that desire”

And Pamela Wirth, of Hello Health, will share what she’s learned on her path to entrepreneurship. Learn from an expert and those who have been there!

In this episode you’ll hear:

(03:49) Why connecting with others is one of the most important traits of an entrepreneur

(05:23) What qualities you need to be an entrepreneur

(08:17) If you can't go all in on your business because you need the financial security of a 9 to 5, how else can you start your business journey?

(10:24) How do you start a business if you have too much on your plate?

(12:56) An entrepreneur is also a leader, so what qualities do you need to be a great leader?

(15:38) What are some hurdles that entrepreneurs might have to overcome when they're thinking about starting a business?

(18:45) What are some of the qualities you need to help you get through the tough times?

Back in 2006, Kiersten Hathcock was just trying to figure things out.

She had left her job at A and E Television Networks a few years before and was bouncing around from town to town with her husband and their two kids.

As she was, Kiersten did the very last thing that anyone expected: she founded a children’s furniture company called Mod Mom Furniture. Then in 2024, after the brand received international recognition and acclaim from Shark Tank, Elle Décor, Better Homes and Gardens, and more, she made another unexpected move: she simply walked away.

Today, Kiersten is the Chief Marketing Officer at Moonshot. It’s a non-profit helping to spur economic development in rural Arizona. But to get there, Kiersten walked on some pretty uneven ground. She navigated a tumultuous appearance on Shark Tank, childhood trauma…even hearing the voices of dead children.

This week, I sat down with Kiersten to hear how she went from working in the television industry to building children’s furniture by hand in her garage. Why did she make such a drastic jump to an industry she had no experience with? How did she differentiate her products in such a saturated market? And how did she learn to trust her intuition, even when she had no indicators of success to latch onto?

Kiersten talks about:

• Identifying product/market fit
• Her experience pitching on Shark Tank
• Learning to trust her instincts over everything
• How to surround yourself with the right kind of people
• Hearing the voices of dead children while designing kid's furniture

Want to sponsor season 3 of "And So, She Left"?

We need your help to keep sharing unique and inspiring stories of women's entrepreneurship! Email us at podcast@cansulta.com.

We have a website!
Visit andsosheleft.com for full episodes, transcripts, an application form to be on the show, a list of upcoming guests and more.

Hosted by Katherin Vasilopoulos. Made by Cansulta and Ethan Lee.
Music by © Correspondence and © Chris Zabriskie, published by You've Been a Wonderful Laugh Track (ASCAP).

Songs used in this episode include:

• Chris Zabriskie - "Air Hockey Saloon," "I Refuse to Accept That There's Nothing I Can Do About It," "Short Song 012823," "Short Song 022123."
• Correspondence - "Up + Up (reprisearise)."

Growing up in the South Side of Chicago, Amanda Moncada-Perkins wanted power.

Her family had few resources to make do with, so she became an attorney when she grew up to unlock a better future. And today, Amanda is the Founding Attorney of her own firm, Stoutegy Law. But stepping into her power as a lawyer wasn’t without some major caveats.

Amanda was pulling brutal 70 to 80-hour weeks while she was working at major firms. She recalls crying every day at work, stretching herself to the absolute limit to outperform her colleagues. She was even put on suicide watch during a particularly dark period.

This week, Amanda talks about how she navigated countless obstacles in the daunting world of law to found her own successful firm. How did she cope with the immense pressure and strain as a high-profile attorney? Why did she find stepping away from work to be so difficult? And how did she eventually learn to put her mind at ease without compromising the quality of her work?

Amanda talks about:

• Overcoming overwork
• How she landed her first client
• Surviving a toxic work environment
• Using school to transcend her circumstances
• The vacation experience that convinced her to leave corporate

We have a website!
Visit andsosheleft.com for full episodes, transcripts, an application form to be on the show, a list of upcoming guests and more.

Hosted by Katherin Vasilopoulos. Made by Cansulta and Ethan Lee.
Music by © Correspondence and © Chris Zabriskie, published by You've Been a Wonderful Laugh Track (ASCAP).

Songs used in this episode include:

• Chris Zabriskie - "Air Hockey Saloon," "Candlepower," "CGI Snake," "Wonder Cycle," "Short Song 012823," "Another Version of You."
• Correspondence - "The North Sea (version)."

When Janice Person was first talking about farm-to-table in the 90's, people thought she was crazy.

Even with a journalism and communications background, she found it tough to share the perspectives of a minority group that we don’t think about very often: the farmers who grow it.

When Janice started out, she was doing PR for the agrochemical juggernaut Monsanto. At Monsanto, she was given tools and resources to amplify the voices of farmers, a goal she’s still pursuing today through her podcast Grounded by the Farm and her company Grounded Communications. To hear Janice talk about farming is to learn what it means to speak with passion and conviction about your business.

In this episode, Janice about her time working in the agriculture industry. What has she learned about communicating key issues about farming to people who know nothing about it? Why is she so passionate about agricultural advocacy? And what can we learn from Janice when it comes to talking about our own businesses?

Janice talks about:

• Essential consumer outreach tips
• Why we should be worried about farmers
• How to engage people outside your niche
• How a trip to her first farm changed her life
• Connecting with your customers through storytelling

We have a website!
Visit andsosheleft.com for full episodes, transcripts, an application form to be on the show, a list of upcoming guests and more.

Hosted by Katherin Vasilopoulos. Made by Cansulta and Ethan Lee.
Music by © Correspondence and © Chris Zabriskie, published by You've Been a Wonderful Laugh Track (ASCAP).

Songs used in this episode include:

• Chris Zabriskie - "Air Hockey Saloon," "The Sun is Scheduled to Come Out Tomorrow," "What True Self? Feels Bogus, Let's Watch Jason X" "Short Song 012023."
• Correspondence - "Harp Routine," "In Copenhagen."

**SPECIAL FOR OUR LISTENERS! Use code "SHELEFT20" for 20% off an order**

Kaylin Marcotte’s early career wasn’t particularly fun.

But when she was training as a management consultant at IBM in 2013, she met two promising, young female founders who wanted to start a media company...called theSkimm. So, she left to become their first employee.

Kaylin’s days were pretty demanding, and she often played with jigsaw puzzles at home to unwind. But she didn’t always love the stock imagery she was putting together. So, in 2019, she founded JIGGY. It’s a direct-to-consumer company creating jigsaw puzzles that…actually look pretty cool. And its very existence is a reminder of how important it is to have fun throughout the entrepreneurial journey.

Kaylin talks about how she went from getting hired as theSkimm’s first employee to becoming the Founder & CEO of JIGGY. How did she transition from working at a media company to manufacturing a physical product? What was it like to create a business out of her hobby? And how do we make fun a core part of the entrepreneurial experience?

Kaylin talks about:

• Essential lessons she learned at theSkimm
• The importance of joy and play in business
• How to transition into product manufacturing
• How she kept her business going after COVID
• How to give your customers exactly what they want

We have a website!
Visit andsosheleft.com for full episodes, transcripts, an application form to be on the show, a list of upcoming guests and more.

Hosted by Katherin Vasilopoulos. Made by Cansulta and Ethan Lee.
Music by © Correspondence and © Chris Zabriskie, published by You've Been a Wonderful Laugh Track (ASCAP).

Songs used in this episode include:

• Chris Zabriskie - "Air Hockey Saloon," "And It Is There, in Those Depths," "Can You Even F****** Imagine Being a Teenager Today?" "I Don't See the Branches, I See the Leaves," "Candlepower."
• Correspondence - "New Year's Loops."

Used under the Creative Commons 4.0 International License

Lisa Lloyd will be the first to tell you that she’s not a genius...though she certainly seems like one.

She invented her first product at 23, a hair styling tool called The French Twister, which eventually grossed $20 million. And over the years, she went on to license seven other products; getting featured on Shark Tank, Good Morning America, USA Today, The Big Idea, and more before starting the Lisa Lloyd Marketing Group. She’s also the Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at the Invention Accelerator, a program that helps busy innovators to get their ideas off the ground.

But not all of those inventions turned out; in fact, Lisa had still been paying off the debt from one of her products until…pretty recently. And before she started inventing, there were no early signs of entrepreneurial greatness. She actually didn’t think she was smart enough to become an entrepreneur, period.

In this episode, Lisa shares what she's learned over 30 years as an inventor and high-profile business owner. What were her most costly mistakes, and what did they teach her? What’s the key to persisting through prolonged periods of uncertainty without becoming cynical? And what are the two types of discipline that you need to keep moving forward as an entrepreneur?

Lisa talks about:

• Why she's not a genius
• The two essential types of discipline
• When to buckle down, and when to give it up
• A less than perfect experience on Shark Tank
• Generating $20,000,000 from her first product
• How to persist through launching your first product

We have a website!
Visit andsosheleft.com for full episodes, transcripts, an application form to be on the show, a list of upcoming guests and more.

Hosted by Katherin Vasilopoulos. Made by Cansulta and Ethan Lee.
Music by © Correspondence and © Chris Zabriskie, published by You've Been a Wonderful Laugh Track (ASCAP).

Songs used in this episode include:

• Chris Zabriskie - "Air Hockey Saloon," "CGI Snake," "Everyone Will Notice, No One Will Say Anything," "We Always Thought the Future Would Be Kind of Fun."
• Correspondence - "Holding Cycle," "On Again (version)," "New Year's Loops."

Used under the Creative Commons 4.0 International License

When Polina Ruvinsky stepped into a leadership role at Disney, she was told to not ask for permission.

In 2018, she formed a women and tech employee group at the company. What started as a kind of experiment turned into a tight-knit community, allowing women at the company to come together, brainstorm, and offer support. The ripple effect of Polina’s community can still be felt: the group is now designated as a Business Employee Resource Group, or BERG, one of 100 BERGs across Disney today.

In 2022, she founded To The SHE Power to offer mentorship, coaching and career services to women in transition. And now, she’s working to launch Hype Her, a platform to revolutionize how women gain visibility and support each other, while uplifting each other and having fun while doing it.

Polina shares how she gave herself permission to create new opportunities for women leaders, how she learned to trust her gut, and how she dealt with what she calls “egregious leadership decisions” during her corporate career.

Polina talks about:

• Dealing with bias and imposter syndrome
• How she learned to not ask for permission
• How she formed a close-knit community at Disney
• Why she never thought she would become an entrepreneur
• The "egregious leadership decisions" she experienced in corporate

We have a new website!
Visit andsosheleft.com for full episodes, transcripts, an application form to be on the show, a list of upcoming guests and more.

Hosted by Katherin Vasilopoulos. Made by Cansulta and Ethan Lee.
Music by © Correspondence and © Chris Zabriskie, published by You've Been a Wonderful Laugh Track (ASCAP).

Songs used in this episode include:

• Chris Zabriskie - "Air Hockey Saloon," "There Are Days That I Don't," "What True Self? Feels Bogus, Let's Watch Jason X," "Short Song 020523," "We Always Thought the Future Would Be Kind of Fun."
• Correspondence - "Harp Routine."

Used under the Creative Commons 4.0 International License

Content Warning: This episode deals with sensitive topics like suicide, PTSD, divorce, and poor mental health.

On the surface, Tereson Dupuy has led a pretty good life.

She successfully ran her business FuzziBunz Diapers for almost two decades and kickstarted the modern cloth diapering movement. All in all, she sold $32 million dollars worth of product.

But beneath the surface, it’s a different story. Tereson’s dealt with trauma ever since she was little: trauma which bled into her entrepreneurial life. She’s battled abandonment and lost her son to suicide during the pandemic.

But Tereson's traumas have actually unlocked her ability to lead with love, both for herself and those around her. The death of her son Eden in particular spurred her upcoming memoir titled "The Return of Eden", which details how he has guided Tereson along her healing journey…from beyond the veil.

In this special Women's History Month episode, Tereson talks about:

• Making sense of suicide and loss
• How prolonged trauma impacted her business
• Dealing with betrayal from predatory business partners
• How her son's diaper rash led inspired a $30,000,000 company
• The unforgettable quote from a Shark Tank shark that changed her life

We have a new website!
Visit andsosheleft.com for full episodes, transcripts, an application form to be on the show, a list of upcoming guests and more.

Hosted by Katherin Vasilopoulos. Made by Cansulta and Ethan Lee.
Music by © Correspondence and © Chris Zabriskie, published by You've Been a Wonderful Laugh Track (ASCAP).

Songs used in this episode include:

• Chris Zabriskie - "Air Hockey Saloon," "It Takes a Lot to Keep a Figure Like This," "Perhaps It Was Not Properly Manufactured," "The Lower Third Hall of Fame," "Cylinder Nine," "Cylinder Four," "CGI Snake," "I'm About to Do the Second Hardest Thing I've Ever Done," "Stories About the World That Once Was," "We Were Never Meant to Live Here," "Short Song 011823," "Short Song 021723," "Short Song 030223," "The House Glows (With Almost No Help)," "I Can't Imagine Where I'd Be Without It."

Used under the Creative Commons 4.0 International License