Today on the podcast, I speak with the lovely Maggie Hildebrand, founder of Connection Collective Toronto, and something tells me one day it will be much bigger than just Toronto!

Maggie founded the social club in June 2025 after spending over a year in the city struggling to find her community. By openly sharing her own experiences with loneliness, she quickly realized there were so many others searching for meaningful connection and a space dedicated to building genuine, lasting friendships.

What started as a simple idea grew rapidly. From hosting her very first event, a picnic in High Park with over 100 attendees, to building a thriving community, Maggie’s vision has truly come to life. So much so that in February 2026, she made the decision to leave her 9–5 career in cancer research to pursue Connection Collective full-time. I’m so excited to share this conversation with you and hope you take something meaningful away from it.

Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, and join the Seasoned Professional community, a space for stories worth sharing 🎙️

🔗 Links from the episode

Connection Collective

Connection Collective on Instagram

Maggie Hildebrand on Instagram

She Moved to Toronto and Felt Lonelier than ever, feature article in The Toronto Star

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YouTube

📲 Find Hannah Octavia & Seasoned Professional on social media!

Seasoned Professional on Instagram

Hannah Octavia on Instagram

TikTok

Substack

See you next Tuesday!

xx Hannah Octavia

(Theme music curtesy of Fran Lusty's song, "Functioning Adult")

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on the podcast, it’s just me, Hannah Octavia. The Seasoned Professional community has reached an incredible milestone: 500 downloads in 30 days!

That means we’re already halfway to being able to monetize the podcast, something that once felt impossible. So this week, I wanted to take a moment to reflect, say thank you to this amazing community, and chat your ear off for about 15 minutes. I hope you enjoy!

Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, and join the Seasoned Professional community, a space for stories worth sharing.

🔗 Links from the episode

"My Goal Was Freedom": How Charlie Follows Built a 1 Million Strong Yoga Community

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YouTube

📲 Find Hannah Octavia & Seasoned Professional on social media!

Seasoned Professional on Instagram

Hannah Octavia on Instagram

TikTok

Substack

See you next Tuesday!

xx Hannah Octavia

(Theme music curtesy of Fran Lusty's song, "Functioning Adult")

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on the podcast, I speak with Charlie Follows, a YouTube yogi who has built a community of over one million people. She began her career teaching in studios, but quickly realized that creating a balanced, sustainable life wasn’t possible by simply adding more in-person classes. At one point, she was teaching up to 20 classes a week, driving between studios, and trying to make ends meet, it wasn’t sustainable. So, Charlie began the transition to YouTube.

Today, she’s created over 1,000 free yoga videos, built a thriving online business, and recently launched her first teaching program to help other yoga instructors turn their virtual content into a career. In this episode, we explore Charlie’s childhood, growing up as an only child, navigating a rebellious phase in high school, and how she ultimately found her way back to herself through yoga. This is a conversation about building a life on your own terms, and a reminder to never judge a book by its cover.

Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, and join the Seasoned Professional community, a space for stories worth sharing.

🔗 Links from the episode

Charlie Follows on Instagram

Yoga Teacher School

Charlie Follows on YouTube

Charlie Follows Yoga Programs

Nicole Addison's Episode

Judah Armani's Episode

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YouTube

📲 Find Hannah Octavia & Seasoned Professional on social media!

Seasoned Professional on Instagram

Hannah Octavia on Instagram

TikTok

Substack

See you next Tuesday!

xx Hannah Octavia

(Theme music curtesy of Fran Lusty's song, "Functioning Adult")

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.