Unemployed and Afraid

05/05/2025

How does it feel to walk away from the business you’ve built so diligently, and what brings you to the point of making that decision?

The answer will surprise you.

If you’ve done it (or are doing it) you know - business changes you. It teaches you things about yourself and lets you meet the parts you needed to. Sometimes the outcome of this is the need to move on from the thing you’ve built - despite its success.

Even if you’ve never thought about moving on from your business, you should hear the deeply personal and valuable story Tegan, founder of the successful candle business Stump & Co, shares. Catch it in full on the Unemployed & Afraid podcast wherever you listen.

Ps. It’s good to be back!

12/02/2025

No but seriously - All 👏 Of 👏 Us 👏 Build 👏 Messy 👏

Embrace the mess, it’s like cleaning out your wardrobe - first everything is in piles on the floor, then you make coordinated magic.

24/01/2025

This week we cracked 200 episodes of Unemployed & Afraid.

200!!!

The faces you see in this post have shared their business story with you like no other show does - real, raw, relatable, often funny and always passionate.

We do it because when we can see to believe - through stories from all levels, industries and structures, not just the 1% - we can find ourselves and our potential. And we can know that our experience is far more “normal” than the gurus would have you believe.

There’s always been a s**t tonne of solo episodes in this last 100 - so thank you for embracing more from me. More insights, musings, over sharing and things I’m working through along the way as me and my own business (this show, amongst other things) ebbs, flows and changes.

Truly. TRULY. Thank you for being here.

Please keep telling your business friends about this show so I can keep it growing - together we’re supporting more people to try hard things and believe in themselves with the knowledge that we shine when entrepreneurship intersects with personal growth (‘cause geez, do we grow!?)

21/01/2025

Plenty of people will tell you “life is short, go after your dreams” but not many make you feel implicitly inspired to do it, while also making the idea of doing it (risk and scary moments included) feel insanely fun.

Debra Brockelsby has an energy that’s entirely contagious. She says it exactly how it is, with no pretense, and makes you feel like anything is possible without implying that any action or outcome needs to be grandiose.

She’s a rare human, and when I tell you that you have to hear her story of building I hope you know my vibe well enough now to trust me that it is an incredible listen, whether you’re in business or not.

As she tells us her business story, you’ll hear about:
- The life changes that reshape us
- Running with no Plan-B
- The power of bringing in a money expert
- The real definition of freedom
- And saying a big f**k yes to growth through discomfort

Hear it on Unemployed & Afraid wherever you listen.

Also - can we have a moment for the lemonade stand quote.
You don’t have to have “always dreamt of building a business” to build a business - you can decide your dreams at any time - forget the narrative.

11/12/2024

The quiet ego, the one who holds us back for fear of change, judgement, looking like a failure - it kills more dreams than anything else.

When you start a business you create motion.

That motion can take on a life of its own and present you with decisions: do you keep going with what you originally planned or take note of what the motion has created, or hasn’t created, and make change to keep moving forward?

of .co knows this feeling intimately - if you’ve already heard the full episode of Unemployed & Afraid with Lisa you’ll know that what she does with this feeling is one of the most impactful learnings we develop along the way. Queue it up in your podcast app if you haven’t as it’s like the business coaching session we all need right now.

Make the change you need to and keep moving 💪 were you needing to hear this as much as I was?

23/11/2024

An Australian Podcast Awards bridesmaid two years running, but proud as punch to consistently back myself to give it a crack.

Running a show solo - no producer, editor, cohost, strategist (would be weird of me to outsource that bit), sales team, PR, marketing support etc - is brutal at best. There has to be a belief in the importance of the work to keep at it.

And I do believe in it. Entrepreneurs of any scale (even those with just an eye to entrepreneurship at this stage) need a diversity of insights, stories, experiences and inspiration to keep showing up - we know this.

We need the learnings, processes and ideas - but we also need support with the pivotal 50% of going after your dreams, the personal growth stuff.

I’ll continue to show up for you and bring you all of the above through Unemployed & Afraid as long as I can. I believe in you, I believe in me, and I believe in the power of podcasts to change lives.

If you’ve listened and love the show, if it supports you, please tell your friends and fellow business builders about it! We’re growing everyday but support and good old fashioned word of mouth means everything.

Biggest congrats to for bringing home the silverware - they have an amazing show that you should check out - and every one of the finalists.

Onto 2025! 3rd time lucky?

16/11/2024

Excuse me, but your host just needs to do a little ugly cry of joy hearing this 😭
THIS is exactly how a business focused podcast should feel.
Like you're seen, heard, valued and entirely normal in your experience.

No matter the scale or industry your business falls into we all share one very real thing - that entrepreneurship is 50% personal growth and just continually showing up for ourselves.

The big household names of business success - they matter - but they don't deserve all the airtime.
We have to see scale and different business profiles (and experiences) to understand the scope and potential of what we're building.

And we have to find hope in the smallest of moments that what we're building matters - this happens by keeping it very, very real.

This is what the Unemployed & Afraid podcast (and now, Substack!) exists for. To keep you in business, or working towards it, no matter what it looks like for you.

Business around the world is made up of people like you and me and our dreams are always a big deal. Let's keep growing together. 💫

07/10/2024

Working out how much money we need instead of what we want - that’s something the old me never would have done in a salaried role.

Now don’t get me wrong - I’m 100% working to create real wealth (as your host I share this with you often) but if that’s the only goal we have, well, we’ll never start the thing, leave the job, go for the new role in a different field (etc) as the barriers and challenges just become too risky.

But what if you could get started in the new thing using the currency of absolute personal happiness, plus enough money to pay the bills?
Does that change what you might do?

It’s this and so much more that Nathan Soulsby AKA had me thinking about when I interviewed him for you about his new venture.

It’s a business born from personal challenge and a commitment to doing what’s needed to move into happiness - and his happiness today is contagious - I feel really honoured to capture this story, Nath thank you for sharing with me and the lucky listener.

Through the story of building Nath’s business you’ll hear about:

* Moving through redundancy
* Allowing your business idea to take you on a mental health care journey
* The power of friendship
* Re-introducing yourself to your network as an entirely new professional
* The magic in starting small
* Breaking up with the corporate wage
* And prioritising long-term health over short term wealth

Given what I do with this podcast I have the total privilege to be leaned on by people in a role but feeling a bit lost, who might want to raise their profile, and often those who are in the thick of starting over - if you’re any of those, this is for you.

Also - Doggos! Who doesn’t love doggos.

Find the chat in your podcast feed now on Unemployed & Afraid and let me know how you feel about your currency of wealth at the moment.

30/09/2024

The show is back with a brand new busines-building story dropping tomorrow (Tuesday).

If you’ve ever:
- self-doubted 🙋🏻‍♀️
- thought you weren’t creative enough for something 🙋🏻‍♀️
- gotten frustrated about growth 🙋🏻‍♀️

Then you will love this!

I am so excited to be back in your ears with our regular guest and solo musings episodes after a wee break to think about how to continue this show for you.

‘Cause TBH - your girl was tired, and running a show like this costs a lot of time and a fair bit of cash that doesn’t make its way back.

But - it’s too important to stop.

We need the personal stories of those building their business, how they became the people capable of achieving their dream because so much of entrepreneurship is about personal growth - this show brings you the tools, insights and inspiration to become the person who will achieve your business dreams.

If you love this show, if it supports you, here’s how you can support it/me right back:
✅ Make sure you’re following the show on your favourite listening app
✅ Tell your friends about it by sharing in your story, on your page, in your newsletter, on your blog, on your own show or even via good ‘ol fashioned conversation

That’s it!

We grow together - thank you for being here, I hope you love all the new episodes coming your way 🧡

25/09/2024

24/09/2024

29/08/2024

The people who help us build our business are the literal MVP’s.

If it’s possible, read: affordable for right now, even a small amount coupled with the right kind of thought in the message will have an incredibly positive impact.

My fave gift giver helper is .gift_ because they make the personalisation part so, well, personal - they fully get our business-building needs (I know this ‘cause they’ve been supporting the show over the last few months, which as your host I am insanely grateful for! And I asked them all about how and why they do what they do).

Let me know if you check them out and end up making someone’s day with a meaningful gift that leaves a lasting impression.