Why do you keep falling back into old habits, even after therapy, personal development, journaling, and years of working on yourself?

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst speaks with transformational coach, Reiki Master Teacher, and Heartspace founder Kelly Keefe about self-sabotage, subconscious reprogramming, nervous system regulation, and lasting personal change.

Kelly works with women who have built successful careers and businesses, cared for everyone around them, and done years of inner work, yet still feel stuck, disconnected, or unfulfilled.

Together, Julie and Kelly explore why conscious effort and willpower are often not enough to create lasting change. Hidden beliefs formed during childhood can continue influencing our confidence, relationships, business decisions, and willingness to be seen.

You will discover:

• Why subconscious patterns can keep you stuck
• How fear of success can disguise itself as procrastination
• Why successful women still struggle with feeling worthy
• How childhood conditioning affects adult behavior
• The relationship between burnout and earning your worth
• Why willpower alone rarely creates sustainable change
• How your nervous system influences confidence and visibility
• The hidden ways self-sabotage appears in everyday life
• Why taking another course can become a form of avoidance
• How identity shifts help create different results
• How neuroscience and spiritual practices can work together
• Why you are not broken and do not need to be fixed

Kelly also explains how self-sabotage can look productive. Constantly collecting more qualifications, delaying a book, postponing a launch, or convincing yourself that you need more preparation may be your subconscious mind trying to protect you from being seen.

This episode is for the woman who appears successful on the outside but privately wonders, “Why do I still feel like something is missing?”

You do not need to become worthy. You do not need to keep proving yourself. You may simply need to uncover the beliefs quietly directing your choices and create enough internal safety to become the woman you already know you can be.

Connect With Kelly Keefe:
https://www.heartspace.co/store/p/the-identity-lock-in-blueprint
https://www.instagram.com/thekellykeefe/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-keefe/
https://www.youtube.com/@theheartspace_global
https://www.heartspace.co/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Have you built a life that looks successful but no longer feels like it reflects the woman you are becoming?

In this powerful conversation, entrepreneur and author Nataliya Falevich shares how she learned to reconnect with her creativity, reclaim her desires, and reinvent herself without abandoning everything she had already built.

After immigrating to the United States at 22, Nataliya created a successful childcare business, raised a family, and built a life she was proud of. Yet beneath her accomplishments, a creative voice continued calling her toward something more.

That calling eventually led her to write The Velvet Blade, a novel exploring power, freedom, control, desire, identity, and the untamed human spirit.

Julie and Nataliya discuss why so many women silence their desires, lose themselves in roles and responsibilities, and become afraid to ask one life-changing question: What do I actually want?

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why success and fulfillment are not always the same
• How to reinvent yourself without walking away from your current life
• Why women often silence their dreams and desires
• How to reconnect with your authentic voice
• Why creativity is essential—not selfish
• How to release the need for certainty and control
• Why your past can become the foundation for your future
• How to embrace every part of who you are becoming

You do not have to reject your past, abandon your responsibilities, or become an entirely different person. Sometimes reinvention simply means giving yourself permission to become more fully yourself.

If you have ever wondered, “Whose life am I living?”, this conversation is for you.

Ways to reach out to Nataliya:

www.nataliyafalevich.com
IG @nataliyafalevich
Amazon https://a.co/d/097oB4BV

Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for honest conversations about women’s stories, personal growth, entrepreneurship, creativity, reinvention, and finding the courage to answer the calling within you.

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Why do we keep repeating the same unhealthy patterns, even when we know they are holding us back?

Identity Pattern Expert, speaker, and bestselling author Amy Sanders joins Julie Fairhurst for a powerful conversation about the hidden identity patterns shaping our confidence, relationships, businesses, and ability to receive greater success and abundance.

FREE RESOURCE: https://amysanders.co/quiz/human-design

Amy shares her journey through divorce, betrayal, financial hardship, personal loss, and raising three children as a single mother on a very small income. Her transformation did not come from working harder, hustling more, or finding another strategy. It began when she recognized and changed the patterns influencing how she saw herself and what she believed was possible.

In this episode, Amy explains why willpower alone rarely creates lasting change and introduces the Identity Pattern Framework, The Unblocked Method, and the three stages of Awareness, Alignment, and Abundance.

You will discover:

• How identity patterns are created
• Why you may keep repeating the same relationship or business struggles
• How your past influences your confidence and choices
• Why working harder does not always move you forward
• How to recognize the patterns keeping you stuck
• What it means to choose a new identity and a new pattern
• How to create healthier relationships, greater success, and a more aligned business

Your past may have shaped you, but it does not have to control your future. You are not broken. You may simply be living inside a pattern you now have the power to change.

Learn more about Amy Sanders:

Website: https://amysanders.co/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its.amysanders/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsamysanders/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@its.amysanders

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

What if healing isn’t about fixing yourself, but finally recognizing that you were never broken?

In this deeply honest conversation, Julie Fairhurst speaks with author, podcast host and Magnificence Mentor Sue Paulson about self-worth, healing after adversity and learning to see the magnificence that has always lived within you.

After facing cancer twice, a near-death experience and other life-changing challenges, Sue uncovered powerful lessons about receiving support, asking for help and giving herself the same grace she had always offered others.

Sue and Julie explore why so many women struggle with feeling “not enough,” how generational beliefs shape our self-image, and why constant self-improvement can sometimes reinforce the belief that something is wrong with us.

In this episode, you will discover:

• Why women often find it easier to give than receive
 • How imposter syndrome grows from feelings of inadequacy
 • The difference between surviving and truly healing
 • Why resilience can sometimes hide unresolved pain
 • How to challenge the belief that you are not enough
 • The importance of self-compassion during adversity
 • How writing can help you understand fear and emotional pain
 • Why one encouraging person can change someone’s life
 • A practical exercise for recognizing your strengths and successes

Sue also shares the inspiration behind her books, The Healing Call of Cancer and Magnificent Misery: From Adversity to Ecstasy, as well as the work she leads through the Magnificence Lab and her podcast, Magnify Your Magnificence.

Your struggles are part of your story, but they are not proof that you are broken. You do not have to earn your worth. You arrived with it.

Please like, subscribe, and share this conversation with a woman who needs to remember how magnificent she truly is.

Books: The Healing Call of Cancer: https://books2read.com/u/49Rl8k
           Magnificent Misery - From Adversity to Ecstasy: https://amazon.com/Magnificent-Misery-Adversity-Sue-Paulson/dp/BOCXXD6M4W

Podcast: Magnify with Sue (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube)
Website: Https://suepaulson.com
Subscribe to Weekly Newsletter: https://magnifywithsue.com

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Is it too late to start over after 50? Ann Mattingly-Lowe proves that it is never too late to reinvent your life, build a business, and discover a new sense of purpose.

After a 27-year career in the pharmaceutical industry, Ann retired, remarried, moved to Colorado, and eventually returned to work in her mid-50s. She went on to create Generations Skincare, a company focused on helping women care for their changing skin with confidence.

In this inspiring Women Like Me Stories & Business interview, Ann and Julie Fairhurst discuss midlife reinvention, starting a business after 50, menopause skincare, healthy aging, sun damage, self-care, mental-health advocacy, and the fear that often comes with beginning again.

Ann’s story is a powerful reminder that starting small still counts, and your next chapter may become your most meaningful one.

Learn more about Ann and Generations Skincare:
https://generationsskincare.net

Follow: @generationsskincare

Subscribe for honest conversations about women’s stories, business, reinvention, visibility, and building a meaningful life at every age.

Website: https://www.generationsskincare.net
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/generationsskincare
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/generationsskincare
Women in Power Feature: https://www.womeninpowertv.com/ann-mattingly-
lowe63429046
EXOGLOW Scientific Animation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GauJ91bsKvLTxriRLEIEcwvCVolFgsA6/view

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

What if you are not broken, and healing begins when you stop believing that you need to be fixed?

In this honest and uplifting conversation, Julie Fairhurst speaks with self-leadership coach and Associate Pranic Healer Jennifer Wilde Gee about healing, personal transformation, and learning to trust yourself again.

Jennifer shares how our challenges can disconnect us from our inner strength and why self-leadership is essential as we prepare to reclaim our lives. This episode explores the connection among emotional healing, energy, self-awareness, and the courage to move forward without all the answers.

Reach out to Jennifer: 

https://www.instagram.com/lighthousehealing_bytruenorth?igsh=MWIxOWwyNmM0dTVtcA==

https://www.facebook.com/share/1EdhSLq8y8/

www.Thelighthousehealing.ca

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

What happens when you are not simply tired, but emotionally depleted in a way that rest alone cannot repair?

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst speaks with Dr. Lorea Martínez about burnout recovery, emotional intelligence, purpose, and what it means to lead without losing yourself.

Many capable women become so accustomed to carrying responsibility that they stop recognizing the signs of emotional exhaustion. They keep working, caring, achieving, and pushing through until their bodies, relationships, or sense of purpose begin to ask for something different.

Dr. Lorea Martínez is an author, speaker, and founder of HEART in Mind. Her research-backed work helps individuals and organizations develop emotional intelligence, recover from burnout, and build lives and workplaces rooted in greater connection, clarity, and purpose.

She is the author of Living with the HEART in Mind, a practical guide to healing from burnout and cultivating purpose.

Learn more about Dr. Lorea Martínez:

Website URL: https://loreamartinez.com/
New book: https://books2read.com/livingwiththeheartinmind
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loreamartinezSEL/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loreamartinez/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drloreamartinez

Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for honest conversations about women’s lives, healing, leadership, business, visibility, and the experiences that shape who we become.

If this conversation stirred something in you, share it with another woman who may be tired of being told to simply push through.

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Pamela Maria De La Luz spent more than 20 years in the tequila industry before turning her experience, heritage, and love for animals into AgaveLuz Organic Tequila.

In this inspiring conversation, Pamela shares how she created an authentic, additive-free organic tequila brand rooted in traditional Mexican craftsmanship. 

She also reveals the setbacks behind launching a physical product, the importance of building a purpose-driven business, and how every entrepreneur can connect profit with meaningful impact.

Discover how one female founder turned a dream into a premium tequila brand that supports animal rescue—and why she believes giving up is never an option.

Learn more about AgaveLuz Organic Tequila:  https://agaveluz.com/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Why do men become distant in marriage, and why do women often feel they must control everything? 

Relationship Rebuild Expert Jeanell Greene joins Julie Fairhurst for an honest conversation about communication, emotional disconnection, trust, respect, intimacy, and how couples can rebuild a struggling marriage.

Jeanell is a Relationship Rebuild Expert who helps men and couples strengthen marriage, leadership, and trust. 

Communication Skills That Actually Work. Just communicate more” isn’t the answer.

What works is learning:

* how to stay calm under pressure

* how to speak without triggering defensiveness

* how to listen without shutting down

These are real communication skills for men—not theory. You don’t need more talking - you need to remove the barriers to connection, because love isn’t something you chase; it’s something that shows up when the walls come down.

Connect with Jeanell Greene:
www.saveourmarriage.ca
https://www.facebook.com/JeanellGreene7
https://www.youtube.com/@jeanellgreene

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

What does it take to rise from a working-class neighborhood in Flint, Michigan, to become a senior executive at three Fortune 500 companies—including Senior Vice President of Global Communications at Starbucks?

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst speaks with award-winning communications leader, author, entrepreneur, and mentor Wanda Herndon about courage, authentic leadership, career advancement, and finding your voice in rooms where you may be underestimated.

Wanda shares how she learned to exceed expectations without changing who she was, build relationships in corporate environments, communicate through difficult moments, and become the CEO of her own life.

In this conversation, you’ll discover:

• How to speak confidently in powerful rooms
 • Why women must claim their place instead of waiting for permission
 • What Fortune 500 companies taught Wanda about leadership
 • How communication helped build the Starbucks brand globally
 • Why authentic leaders bring other women with them
 • How to turn rejection, setbacks, and “no” into a new direction
 • What it means to be fearless, strategic, and true to yourself

Wanda is also the author of Breaking Glass: One Woman’s Fight to Belong and to Lead, a story of perseverance, possibility, and rising beyond other people’s expectations.

If you have ever questioned whether you belong, this conversation will remind you: you were invited into the room for a reason. Take your seat. Use your voice. Claim your spot.

Subscribe for more honest conversations about women in business, leadership, confidence, visibility, personal growth, and the stories that shape our lives.

CONNECT WITH WANDA:

https://www.wcommgroup.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wanda-herndon-b4794019

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

How do you find your voice, rebuild your confidence, and begin again when you believe it may be too late?

In this inspiring episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst speaks with speaker, author, entrepreneur, small-business coach and podcast host Jennifer Ann Johnson.

Jennifer shares how she learned to trust her own voice, speak confidently in rooms where she once questioned whether she belonged, and return to college in her 50s. Her story is a powerful reminder that confidence is not something we are simply born with—it is a skill we can build through practice.

Julie and Jennifer also discuss overcoming the fear of judgment, rebuilding after setbacks, and developing resilience without pretending to be strong all the time. Jennifer introduces her practical GRIT framework:

G — Ground yourself in your core values
R — Reframe what is happening
I — Identify the next right step
T — Find your tribe

Jennifer also explains why your voice is one of your greatest business tools. Whether you are speaking publicly, writing marketing content or using artificial intelligence in your business, your message must still sound like you. Your voice is part of your brand, and nobody can represent your story and vision as authentically as you can.

In this conversation, you will discover:

• How to find and trust your voice
• Why confidence grows through practice
• How to overcome fear of criticism and judgment
• Why it is never too late to return to school or follow a dream
• How to rebuild confidence after a setback
• The four steps in Jennifer’s GRIT framework
• How to decide whether to persevere or change direction
• Why resilience does not mean being strong all the time
• How your everyday actions create a ripple effect
• Why your authentic voice matters in business

If you have been wondering whether you have waited too long, Jennifer’s message is for you: every day offers another opportunity to begin.

www.jenniferannjohnson.com
www.truefashionistas.com

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Why do talented, hardworking women continue to be overlooked in business?

Award-winning CEO and author Catherine Lang-Cline says it is not because women lack ability. It is because many women were taught to be quiet, work harder, wait their turn, and hope someone eventually recognizes their value. Meanwhile, the real decisions are being made in rooms they have not yet learned how to enter.

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst speaks with Catherine about the unwritten rules of business, women in leadership, financial confidence, strategic networking, and what it took to build and sell a multimillion-dollar company.

Catherine is the author of The Rules of the Game for Women in Business: A Playbook to Become the Leader You Were Born to Be. She reveals how women can stop waiting for permission, communicate their value, build influential relationships, and confidently claim their place at the table.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why hard work alone does not guarantee recognition
 • How women can stop being the “doer” and become the leader
 • Why women should speak openly about their accomplishments
 • How relationships and strategic networking create opportunities
 • Why asking for more money is not selfish
 • How to stop apologizing for your ambition and success
 • Why delegation is essential for business growth
 • What Catherine learned from building a multimillion-dollar company
 • Why “no” may simply mean “not yet”
 • What it means when Catherine says, “No one is coming to save us”
 • How to outgrow people without apologizing for changing
 • Why women must stop waiting and begin building what they want now

This conversation is for female entrepreneurs, women in leadership, business owners, professionals, and every woman who knows she is capable of more—but is tired of waiting for someone else to notice.

You do not have to become someone else to succeed. But you do need to understand the game, use your voice, build the right relationships, and walk into the room knowing you belong there.

Learn more about Catherine, her coaching, and The Rules of the Game for Women in Business on her official website:

https://catherinelangcline.com/
https://langcline.substack.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinelangcline/

Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for honest conversations about women in business, leadership, sales confidence, visibility, personal growth, and the stories that shape our lives.

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

What do you do with the rest of your life when the future you expected suddenly disappears?

In this deeply moving episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst speaks with Dr. Lynn Banis about grief, identity loss, widowhood, major life transitions, and how women can begin rebuilding their lives after devastating change.

Within three years, Lynn lost her mother, her younger brother, and her husband. These losses did more than break her heart; they changed her relationships, motivation, identity, and sense of purpose. Despite her extensive background in human behavior and coaching, Lynn discovered that grief could not be solved through knowledge alone.

This conversation is for the woman who survived the immediate crisis but is still quietly wondering:

• Who am I now?
• Why am I so exhausted and unmotivated?
• Will I ever experience joy again?
• Is it wrong to laugh, travel, date, or build a business after loss?
• What do I do with the rest of my life?

Julie and Lynn also discuss an important truth: grief is not limited to death. Divorce, retirement, job loss, becoming an empty nester, losing a relationship, and watching an expected future disappear can all leave a woman grieving the person she used to be.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why grief can feel like laziness or lack of motivation
• What happens when the world expects you to “be better”
• How self-limiting beliefs can block your next chapter
• Why women sometimes feel guilty for experiencing joy again
• How divorce, retirement, and job loss affect identity
• When professional mental health support may be needed
• How to stop allowing the past to control your future
• Why connection with other women matters during reinvention
• One small action you can take to reconnect with yourself
• How grief can eventually lead to renewed purpose

Moving forward does not mean forgetting the people or life you lost. It means allowing yourself to carry the love, lessons, and memories with you as you begin creating what comes next.

Your life is not over. You still have value, purpose, and chapters waiting to be written.

ABOUT DR. LYNN BANIS

Dr. Lynn Banis is a transformational guide, grief mentor, speaker, and the founder of Women Rising Together. Drawing from her background in human behavior, decades of coaching experience, and her own journey through profound loss, Lynn helps women move through grief, reconnect with their identities, and create meaningful new lives filled with purpose, connection, and joy.

Connect with Dr. Lynn Banis:

Women Rising Together:
https://womenrisingtogether.org/

Community and resources:
https://app.widowsrisingtogether.com/

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynn-banis-36987b2aa/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/banislynn/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

How do you let go of guilt and regret after losing someone you love? And is it possible to move forward without feeling as though you are leaving them behind?

In this deeply honest episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst speaks with Stephanie Renner about grief, suicide loss, caregiving guilt, self-forgiveness, and finding the freedom to live fully again.

Over six years, Stephanie experienced the sudden loss of her father, the emotional weight of caring for her mother through Alzheimer’s disease, and the devastating loss of her 18-year-old son, Jordan, to suicide.

After Jordan’s death, Stephanie found herself trapped in the painful questions so many grieving mothers carry:

• What if I had noticed something?
• What if I had done more?
• What if one different decision could have changed everything?

Stephanie shares why these “what-ifs” can feel like carrying a backpack filled with bricks—and how releasing them does not mean releasing the person you loved.

This conversation explores:

• How to stop blaming yourself after a traumatic loss
• Why regret becomes so powerful during grief
• The hidden guilt experienced by caregivers
• What genuine grief support looks like
• How to move forward without “moving on”
• Why healing does not require superhuman strength
• How pain can become purpose
• The difference between honoring someone and punishing yourself
• Stephanie’s Regret to Resilience Method™
• The legacy Jordan left in only 18 years

Stephanie Renner is a keynote speaker, writer, attorney, nonprofit founder, and creator of The Regret to Resilience Method™. Her work helps people release guilt, shame, and unresolved regret after trauma or loss so they can move forward with renewed purpose. Learn more about Stephanie

If you are carrying guilt over something you could not control, please hear this: moving forward is not a betrayal. You are allowed to carry the love without carrying the punishment.

Reach out to Stephanie:

https://www.stephanierennerspeaks.com/
https://www.stephanierennerspeaks.com/podcastoffer
https://gillysfriends.com/

Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for honest conversations about women’s lives, healing, courage, business, visibility, and the stories that shape us.

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Why can a woman appear confident, capable, and successful, yet privately wonder whether she is good enough?

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, host Julie Fairhurst speaks with personal development and success coach Amy Lenius about the critical difference between self-confidence, self-belief, and self-worth.

Many women know how to work hard, achieve goals, care for their families, and carry enormous responsibility. But beneath all that capability, they may be people-pleasing, ignoring their needs, struggling to set boundaries, or living according to everyone else’s expectations.

Amy explains why success does not always create fulfillment, and why another planner, goal, affirmation, or burst of discipline cannot repair a damaged relationship with yourself.

In this conversation, you will discover:

• The difference between self-belief and self-worth
• Why successful women can still feel “not good enough”
• How people-pleasing slowly erodes your identity
• Why women lose themselves in the roles they carry
• How to recognize when your life no longer fits who you are
• Where women learn to doubt their instincts
• Why affirmations do not work for everyone
• How small promises and daily wins rebuild self-trust
• How to set boundaries without destroying important relationships
• Why radical responsibility can give you your power back
• How to create success that feels fulfilling and sustainable

Amy also shares her personal journey from living with endometriosis and chronic pain to becoming pain-free and building a career rooted in holistic wellness, personal development, identity, and sustainable success.

CONNECT WITH AMY

https://www.nextleveluniverse.com/group-coaching/
https://www.facebook.com/amy.lenius
https://www.instagram.com/amylenius

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

She survived the September 11 attacks in downtown Manhattan. Seven years later, she made Lehman Brothers’ final margin call before its historic bankruptcy. But Jane Buyers’ most difficult reckoning was not with Wall Street—it was with herself.

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Jane Buyers, an award-winning author and former managing director and senior banker with JPMorgan Chase.

Jane shares her extraordinary journey from social worker to senior Wall Street executive, young mother, 9/11 survivor, financial-crisis insider, and finally, author of the memoir Eight Septembers: A Woman on Wall Street From 9/11 to Lehman.

This is not simply a conversation about banking or historic events. It is an honest examination of ambition, motherhood, marriage, addiction, burnout, guilt, survival, and the courage required to reclaim your life when success no longer feels like success.

In this episode, Julie and Jane explore:

✦ What Jane witnessed in downtown Manhattan on September 11, 2001
✦ Why she and her colleagues continued working after the attacks
✦ The emotional aftermath of surviving an unimaginable day
✦ Becoming a female leader in the male-dominated world of Wall Street
✦ The pressure of combining motherhood with a demanding senior career
✦ How financial security became a pair of “golden handcuffs”
✦ Making Lehman Brothers’ final margin call before its bankruptcy
✦ The personal crises unfolding behind Jane’s professional achievements
✦ The difference between destructive blame and healthy self-accountability
✦ Why external validation can quietly steal a woman’s power
✦ Walking away from money, influence, and an impressive title
✦ Writing through trauma, shame, anger, and complicated family relationships
✦ Why it took Jane 15 years to complete and publish her memoir
✦ How writing from another person’s perspective can build compassion
✦ What women avoiding their own books need to hear
✦ Discovering who you are after the achievements and titles are removed

Julie also shares parts of her own story—from growing up surrounded by blame to leaving a successful 34-year sales career and rebuilding her identity beyond the work she once knew.

Together, Julie and Jane reveal a truth many accomplished women quietly face: you can look successful from the outside while losing touch with yourself on the inside.

Jane’s memoir, Eight Septembers, offers a rare woman’s perspective on Wall Street, 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, motherhood, marriage, resilience, and personal reinvention. Her award-winning manuscript became a published memoir after years of writing, therapy, workshops, honest reflection, and professional editing.

Connect with Jane Buyers

www.janebuyers.com
www.eightseptembers.com

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

What is life like for women fighting for freedom, equality, and the right to use their own voices in Iran?

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst speaks with Zolal Habibi, an Iranian-American human rights and women’s rights advocate and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

Zolal’s commitment to human rights is deeply personal. Her father—a writer and human rights activist—was killed in connection with Iran’s 1988 massacre of political prisoners when Zolal was only seven years old.

Rather than allowing this devastating loss to silence her, Zolal transformed her grief into a lifelong mission. For more than two decades, she has worked to amplify the voices of Iranian women, political prisoners, and others who cannot speak freely without risking their safety.

In this important conversation, Julie and Zolal explore:

✦ The realities facing women and girls in Iran
 ✦ How controlling women’s clothing, choices, and voices becomes a means of controlling society
 ✦ The courage of Iranian women who continue to resist oppression
 ✦ How Zolal’s father’s death shaped her life and purpose
 ✦ Why women’s empowerment is essential to lasting social change
 ✦ The history behind Iran’s continuing struggle for freedom
 ✦ Why education has become a form of resistance for Iranian women
 ✦ What it costs to stand by your beliefs when speaking carries real danger
 ✦ How men can become meaningful allies for women’s equality
 ✦ What women in Canada and around the world can do to raise awareness
 ✦ Why helping another woman discover her power also strengthens your own

This is not simply a conversation about Iran. It is about what happens whenever women are denied the right to choose, speak, lead, and determine their own futures.

Zolal leaves us with a message for every woman who feels powerless, forgotten, or afraid:

Believe in your strength. Respect your decisions. Take one step at a time—and reach back to empower another woman as you rise.

Institutional discrimination and serious human-rights violations affecting women and girls in Iran have also been documented by the United Nations Human Rights Office.

Connect with Zolal Habibi

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zolalhabibi/
 Instagram: @ashrafi4ever
X: @Ashrafi4ever
Learn more: Iran Freedom

If this conversation helps you understand the courage of Iranian women more deeply, please share it. Silence protects oppression. Awareness gives truth somewhere to stand.

Content note: This episode discusses executions, political imprisonment, torture, sexual violence, and the loss of family members. Please listen with care.

The views and historical interpretations expressed by the guest are her own. This interview is presented to encourage awareness and conversation about women’s rights and human rights.

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

💍💍How do you plan the perfect marriage proposal, and make sure it reflects the person you truly love?

Julie Fairhurst sits down with Ash Fox, one of New York City’s leading marriage proposal planners and photographers. After helping plan and photograph more than 3,000 marriage proposals, Ash knows what creates an unforgettable “yes”—and what can quietly ruin the surprise.

Ash shares how she went from earning $80 photographing New York nightlife to building Ash Fox Proposals, a full-service proposal-planning business serving couples from around the world.

This conversation is about far more than getting down on one knee. Julie and Ash explore love, entrepreneurship, creative pricing, burnout, leadership, perfectionism, delegation, and the courage required to follow an unexpected calling.

In this episode, you will discover:

💍 How to plan a meaningful and personalized marriage proposal
💍 Why curiosity is the secret to understanding your partner
💍The biggest marriage-proposal mistakes people make
💍How Ash keeps proposals surprising and authentic
💍Why a beautiful proposal does not need to be elaborate
💍What more than 3,000 proposals taught Ash about love and commitment
💍How Ash turned photography into a highly specialized business
💍How creative women can begin charging appropriately for their work
💍Why doing everything yourself is not always generous
💍How Ash moved through burnout and learned to lead a team
💍Why perfection is sometimes found inside the imperfections

Ash reminds us that the perfect proposal is not about copying something beautiful from social media. It is about telling your partner:

I see you. I know you. I chose this moment with you in mind.

Whether you are preparing to propose, searching for romantic proposal ideas, growing a creative business, or wondering whether your unexpected path could become your purpose, this conversation will make you think differently about love, work, and the stories we leave behind.

Connect with Ash Fox 💍

Website: https://ashfoxphotography.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ashfoxproposals

Ash Fox is a New York City proposal planner, photographer, and founder of Ash Fox Proposals. She and her team have planned and documented more than 3,000 marriage proposals for couples from around the world. Her work combines personalized planning, event production, emotional intelligence, and editorial photography.

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Why do hardworking, highly capable women get overlooked for promotions, even when they consistently overdeliver?

Executive leadership coach Nicole Johnston reveals how invisible labor, workplace bias, vague feedback, emotional labor, and unspoken leadership rules can quietly keep women from advancing in their careers.

Nicole has more than 30 years of senior corporate leadership experience. In this candid conversation with Julie Fairhurst, she explains why doing excellent work is not enough to make a woman promotable, and why your boss may not understand your contributions unless you learn to communicate your value.

We discuss the non-promotable work women are often expected to carry: taking notes, organizing celebrations, managing emotions, cleaning up, supporting everyone else, and accepting responsibilities that provide little recognition or career advancement.

Nicole also exposes the problems hidden inside phrases such as “executive presence,” “be more confident,” “you’re too direct,” and “you’re not quite leadership material.” You will learn how to ask for specific feedback, protect your ideas, reclaim credit, build visibility, and have direct conversations about your next promotion.

In this episode, you will discover:

•  Why hardworking women are frequently overlooked for promotions 
•  How invisible and non-promotable work damages career advancement 
•  Why competence alone does not demonstrate leadership potential 
•  What executive presence should really mean 
•  How gender bias can hide inside vague professional feedback 
•  What to say when someone calls you intimidating or too direct 
•  Why overdelivering can make you less strategically visible 
•  How to stop accepting work that was never yours 
•  The difference between being valuable and being promotable 
•  Why women need coaches, mentors, and sponsors 
•  How to build relationships with people who advocate for you 
•  What to say when someone interrupts you or takes credit for your idea 
•  How to manage your career instead of waiting to be noticed 

Nicole is also the author of Taboo Topics: Things Women Should Talk About But Don’t, a practical guide addressing personal and professional issues women are often discouraged from discussing.

If you have ever worked harder, taken on more, stayed agreeable, and proven yourself repeatedly, only to remain stuck. This conversation may help you understand why.

Your hard work matters. But if no one sees your thinking, leadership, results, or ambitions, your competence can become the very reason they leave you exactly where you are.

Watch until the end to learn the simple sentence every woman can use when someone interrupts her.

Connect with Nicole Johnston

http://www.innate-power.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolemjohnston

https://www.instagram.com/innatepowercoaching/

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122100179066765813&set=a.122100179132765813    (iP Facebook)

https://www.facebook.com/nicolejohnstoncoach  (nmj Facebook)

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Starting over after divorce is difficult. Starting over while raising three children alone can feel almost impossible.

In this deeply honest episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, host Julie Fairhurst speaks with Gail Cawley Showalter, an author, coach, speaker, educator, and advocate for single mothers. Known in Southeast Texas as the “Old Bird with Feathers of Wisdom for Women and a Soft Spot for Single Moms,” Gail shares wisdom earned through heartbreak, financial pressure, loneliness, education, motherhood, and rebuilding a life that no longer resembled the one she had planned.

Gail raised three children as a single mother for 16 years. Her marriage ended abruptly, leaving her emotionally devastated and responsible for creating a new future for herself and her children.

During the day, she held herself together. At night, after her children were asleep, the tears came. Gail speaks openly about the pain women often carry behind closed doors—and the strength it takes to keep showing up when no one sees the full weight of what they are carrying.

This conversation explores what happens when a woman realizes no one is coming to rescue her and that she must begin rebuilding her life one decision at a time.

Gail returned to school three times, earned her master’s degree, found ways to create additional income, raised her children, and eventually began using her experiences to guide other single mothers. Her story is not about pretending hardship is beautiful. It is about accepting that life can be difficult while still believing that another future is possible.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• How to start rebuilding your life after divorce
• The emotional reality of becoming a single mother
• Why rejection and abandonment can affect women for years
• How divorce can create lasting wounds for children
• Why counseling and emotional support matter
• The difference between independence and doing everything alone
• Why women must learn to ask for help
• How to recognize and use the skills you already have
• Practical ways single mothers can create additional income
• Why education or career certification can change a family’s future
• How to return to school as an adult or single parent
• Why you are never too old to learn something new
• How mothers model resilience and determination for their children
• The importance of financial planning and living within your means
• Why healthy boundaries are essential after divorce
• Warning signs that you are abandoning yourself to keep a relationship
• Why disagreement should not make you feel unsafe
• How to stop repeating unhealthy relationship patterns
• Why your messy or ordinary story may help another woman
• How to rebuild your confidence and recognize your worth

Gail also shares an unforgettable story about needing help while her nine-year-old son was hospitalized with a ruptured appendix. She mentioned that she needed someone to move her refrigerator. Instead, an entire church choir arrived and moved everything in her home.

The lesson was simple but powerful: people may want to help, but they need to know that you need them.

Gail encourages single mothers not to solve their entire lives in one day. Gather information. Explore your options. Take one step. Knock on one door and see whether it opens.

You do not need to swallow the whole enchilada at once.

Education and Financial Support for Women

Gail discusses the value of gaining a practical skill, credential, certification, or degree that can help a single mother support herself and her children.

She also mentions P.E.O. International, which offers educational support and grants for women in the United States and Canada, including programs for women returning to school.

Learn more: https://www.peointernational.org

Find Gail Showalter

Website: https://www.gailshowalter.com
Blog: https://www.gailshowalterblog.com

Gail is the author of Living, Learning, Loving: Lessons of Insight and Encouragement on the Path of Motherhood. Her work addresses single motherhood, boundaries, money management, education, relationships, and rebuilding after divorce.

Her book is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, and other booksellers.

If you are a single mother who feels exhausted, frightened, lonely, or uncertain about your future, Gail wants you to remember:

You are worthy. You are amazing. You can do this.

Please share this episode with a woman who needs to hear that she is not alone.

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Carol explains that our behavior often reveals what our conscious mind cannot see. We may say that we want to publish a book, speak on a stage, grow a business, earn more money, or become more visible—but if success feels emotionally unsafe, we will unconsciously find reasons to delay it.

The question is not simply, “Why am I sabotaging myself?”

A more powerful question is:

“How is staying stuck protecting me—and what am I afraid might happen if I succeed?”

Carol also explains Emotional Freedom Techniques, commonly known as EFT tapping. This body-based practice involves focusing on a distressing thought while tapping on specific acupressure points. It is designed to send calming signals to the brain and nervous system, helping people feel safer as they face difficult emotions, memories, goals, or situations.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why self-sabotage may actually be an attempt to stay safe
• The hidden connection between procrastination and emotional protection
• Why childhood experiences can create adult fears around visibility
• How people-pleasing and perfectionism develop
• Why women may be especially afraid of being seen, judged, or criticized
• The difference between intuition and fear trying to keep you small
• Why fear of success can be more powerful than fear of failure
• How to identify the possible “downside” of achieving your goals
• What EFT tapping is and how it supports the nervous system
• How emotional safety affects motivation, follow-through, and success
• Why pushing harder can lead to stress, exhaustion, and burnout
• How to identify your next small, emotionally safe “yes”
• The relationship between stress, sleep, anxiety, and physical health
• How gratitude can influence your mindset and emotional well-being
• Why self-care must become non-negotiable
• How to stop shaming yourself for coping strategies you once needed

Carol reminds us that human beings are wired for safety—not necessarily for success. If your next level feels unsafe, your nervous system may resist it, regardless of how badly you consciously want it.

Instead of forcing yourself from zero to one hundred, Carol recommends finding your next yes: one manageable step your nervous system can tolerate. You do not need to leap across the entire canyon today. You only need to take the next safe, meaningful step.

Connect with Carol Look

www.YouTube.com/@carollooksuccess
www.TheYesCode.com
www.TheYesCode.com/thankyou

Carol’s books and resources explore EFT tapping, gratitude, emotional freedom, self-sabotage, and creating greater success from a place of emotional safety.

If this conversation helped you understand your behavior differently, please like the video, leave a comment, and share it with another woman who has been blaming herself for feeling stuck.

Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for powerful conversations with women, authors, entrepreneurs, survivors, and experts sharing the lessons, tools, and stories that help us grow in business and in life.

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Healing after trauma does not happen all at once. It happens in layers, often resurfacing as life, motherhood, relationships, and identity change.

In this powerful conversation, Julie Fairhurst speaks with Lee-Ann O’Brien, an author, speaker, certified resilience coach, survivor, and police officer with more than two decades of experience. Lee-Ann shares her journey from surviving childhood abuse and gun violence to building a life rooted in courage, service, purpose, and what she calls “headfire.”

What is headfire? It is the fierce inner strength that keeps moving through changing conditions—just like the powerful center of a wildfire. It is more than resilience. It is the force within us that helps turn pain into purpose and a spark into strength.

Lee-Ann opens up about recognizing that her past was still affecting her, returning to therapy, testifying in court, and discovering that healing is not a single destination. A difficult memory or emotional trigger does not mean you have failed or undone your progress. Sometimes it means you have finally created enough space for another part of yourself to be acknowledged and healed.

Julie and Lee-Ann also explore the difference between surviving, coping, and truly living; why strong women often struggle to ask for help; and how boundaries can protect your peace without erasing love or compassion.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why trauma healing often happens in layers
• The difference between surviving, coping, and healing
• How survival mode affects the mind and body
• Why being “the strong one” can delay asking for help
• Simple grounding practices that help regulate the nervous system
• How humming, breathing, movement, and self-talk can reduce stress
• Why resilience is built rather than something you are simply born with
• How writing can help survivors reclaim their stories
• Why forgiveness does not require giving someone access to your life
• How to support a trauma survivor without pushing them to disclose
• Why boundaries, self-awareness, sleep, and daily routines matter
• How Lee-Ann is helping bring resilience training into policing
• What can become possible when you stop seeing yourself as broken

Lee-Ann is the author of Breaking Trail and Raising Fire. Through her books, speaking, and resilience coaching, she helps people recognize the strength already living within them and move from merely surviving to truly living.

Her books are available through Amazon, Indigo, and other major booksellers.

Connect with Lee-Ann O’Brien:  

https://linktr.ee/LeeAnnFOBrien
Website:  https://www.leeannobrien.ca/

If this conversation reminds you of someone who has been carrying too much alone, please share it with her. One story can become the match that helps another woman rediscover her fire.

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Are you allowing the fear of rejection to stop you from asking, selling, following up, or pursuing what you truly want?

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Andrea Waltz, speaker, entrepreneur, rejection expert, and co-author of the bestselling book Go for No! Yes Is the Destination, No Is How You Get There.

Andrea explains why rejection feels so personal—especially for women—and how learning to hear “no” can build confidence, create more opportunities, and ultimately lead to more yeses.

You’ll discover:

•  Why the fear of rejection is built into us 
•  How to stop connecting your self-worth to someone else’s response 
•  Why setting a “no goal” can increase sales and opportunities 
•  How to ask for referrals, reviews, clients, and support with confidence 
•  What to say when someone tells you, “Not right now” 
•  How to follow up without sounding desperate or pushy 
•  Why silence and rejection are valuable information 
•  How writers can handle low book sales and declined submissions 
•  Why women must stop saying no to themselves 
•  How taking action builds courage and confidence 

Andrea also shares an important reminder: “It’s not about you, even when it’s about you.”

If you are an author, coach, entrepreneur, salesperson, or woman with a dream you have been afraid to pursue, this conversation will help you stop waiting for permission and start making the ask.

What opportunity could be waiting on the other side of the “no” you are currently avoiding?

👉 Learn more about Andrea Waltz, read Go for No!, and take the rejection quiz: https://www.goforno.com/

Website:  https://www.goforno.com/

👍 Like this episode if it encouraged you.
 💬 Tell us in the comments: What will you finally ask for?
 🔔 Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for conversations about women’s stories, business, confidence, visibility, and success.

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

“We have to create a new story in our subconscious mind.” — Tracy Pequin

Financial freedom for women begins with understanding how money, debt, taxes, disability benefits, and long-term savings actually work.

Julie Fairhurst sits down with Tracy Pequin, a Canadian money coach and disability-resource advocate, for an important conversation about financial literacy, women and money, the Disability Tax Credit, Registered Disability Savings Plans, retirement planning, and building intergenerational wealth.

In 2006, Tracy became a single mother while her husband struggled with alcoholism and addiction. She was suddenly responsible for her family’s expenses with half the household income and no child support. Like many capable women, she responded by working harder—taking on three jobs for three years.

But exhaustion did not create financial freedom.

After facing $60,000 in debt, bankruptcy, and money owed to the CRA, Tracy realized that she needed more than another job. She needed to understand how money worked and change the beliefs about money she had carried since childhood.

In this episode, we discuss:

How childhood poverty and shame shape our relationship with money
Why working harder doesn’t always create financial security
Recovering financially after divorce, debt, or bankruptcy
The difference between cutting expenses and increasing income
Why women must understand their family finances

Tracy also explains her PAID system for organizing important financial information:

P — Protection: wills and insurance policies
A — Assets: everything you own
I — Income: where your money comes from
D — Debt: everything you owe

This can help families locate essential information if a partner becomes ill, dies, or is no longer able to manage the household finances.

One of the most powerful messages from this conversation is simple: Your history does not determine your future. You do.

If you feel embarrassed by what you don’t know about money, this episode is not here to shame you. It is here to remind you that financial knowledge can be learned—and the sooner you begin, the more choices you may be able to create for yourself and your family.

Learn More About Canadian Disability Resources

Eligibility is based on each person’s circumstances. For current information, visit the official Government of Canada pages for the Disability Tax Credit and the Registered Disability Savings Plan.

Important: This interview is for general educational purposes and does not constitute individual financial, tax, legal, medical, or investment advice. Programs and eligibility requirements can change. Speak with the appropriate qualified professional or government agency about your circumstances.

About Tracy Pequin

Tracy Pequin is a money coach, licensed financial professional, caregiver, and advocate who helps individuals and families understand money, locate disability-related resources, and build greater long-term financial security. Drawing from her own experiences with poverty, single motherhood, bankruptcy, chronic pain, and financial rebuilding, Tracy is passionate about giving people hope—and helping them discover possibilities they may not know exist.

Connect with Tracy:
Primerica Financial Services 

https://www.primerica.com/pequin&origin=customStandard

https://therealhowmoneyworks.ca/ca/TracyPequin 

Short videos on how money works

https://wallofwealth.ca/ca/TracyPequin

The greatest wealth transfer and how to get paid for it

https://therealhowmoneyworks.ca/ca/TracyPequin

How to get access to a free how money works brochure

https://livemore.net/o/TracyPequin

How to make more money remotely and get paid from your own investments.

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

How do you build confidence, find your voice, and stop giving away your power?

Julie Fairhurst sits down with Meeka Caissie, speaker, entrepreneur, and senior leader with Tony Robbins, for a powerful conversation about women’s confidence, courageous leadership, self-worth, mindset, and the language that quietly shapes our lives.

Meeka shares how leaving school early and refusing to conform led her into a lifelong study of human potential, personal identity, and human behavior. Together, Julie and Meeka explore why true confidence has very little to do with appearance—and everything to do with self-respect, personal agency, and the decisions you are willing to make.

You’ll discover what Meeka calls your “emotional home”: the familiar emotional state you may automatically return to, even when it keeps you trapped in fear, guilt, shame, or overwhelm. She explains how changing what you focus on can begin changing how you feel, respond, and lead.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

•  How to build confidence and trust yourself 
•  Why being seen begins with self-respect 
•  What your “emotional home” reveals about your habits 
•  How language influences confidence and personal power 
•  Why saying “I can’t” quietly gives away your agency 
•  How replacing “I have to” with “I get to” changes your perspective 
•  Why decision-making is a muscle you can strengthen 
•  The relationship between courage, truth, and conformity 
•  How women can support one another without competition 
•  Why preserving women’s stories matters to future generations 

Meeka also shares the vision behind Ladies in Power, a community dedicated to women supporting women, and Her Story in Stone, her mission to preserve women’s stories through video so future generations inherit more than photographs—they inherit the voices, wisdom, and meaning behind them.

Your life already contains proof of what you have survived, learned, built, and become. The question is: will you keep dismissing that proof, or will you finally allow it to strengthen you?

If you are working to overcome self-doubt, develop a stronger mindset, become a more confident leader, or find the courage to use your voice, this conversation is for you.

Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for conversations about women’s stories, business growth, leadership, confidence, healing, visibility, and legacy:
https://www.youtube.com/@juliefairhurstWLM

Share this episode with a woman who needs to remember that her voice still belongs to her.

About Meeka Caissie

Meeka Caissie is a speaker, entrepreneur, and senior leader with Tony Robbins. Her work focuses on human potential, confidence, identity, behavior, courageous leadership, and helping women reclaim their voices and personal power. She is also the visionary behind Ladies in Power and Her Story in Stone, initiatives created to strengthen women today while preserving their wisdom for generations to come.

Get connected here:  https://www.meekacaissie.com/home

https://www.facebook.com/meekacaissie

https://www.instagram.com/meekacaissie/?hl=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/meekacaissie/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

How can historical fiction bring forgotten women back to life—and what can their courage teach women today?

In this fascinating episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Canadian author and speaker Cinda Gault to explore historical fiction, courageous female characters, women’s history, creative writing, and the power of telling stories that official records left behind.

Cinda shares her remarkable journey from helping establish a rape crisis center and domestic violence shelter to working as a prison guard, earning a PhD in English, teaching Canadian literature, and becoming a published author.

Her historical novels celebrate adventurous women who refuse to accept the lives prescribed for them. Through stories inspired by women such as Isobel Gunn and Marie-Anne Gaboury, Cinda reveals how research and imagination can restore depth, humanity, and possibility to women who were barely acknowledged in historical records.

In this conversation, Julie and Cinda discuss:

• Why brave and unconventional women make compelling characters
• How historical fiction can recover women’s forgotten stories
• Isobel Gunn’s decision to disguise herself as a man in 1806
• Marie-Anne Gaboury’s journey into Canada’s fur-trade country
• Why women’s experiences were often recorded through men’s eyes
• Annie Oakley, Gabriel Dumont, the Jesse James Gang, and the Louis Riel Rebellion
• The difference between wanting to write and becoming a writer
• Why real life cannot simply be placed on a page and called a story
• How structure, editing, and professional guidance strengthen a book
• What rejection taught Cinda about becoming a published author
• Why women sometimes limit themselves through other people’s expectations
• The responsibility that comes with personal freedom
• Artificial intelligence, critical thinking, and the future of storytelling
• What Cinda hopes her granddaughters inherit from earlier generations of women

Cinda also shares candid advice for women who want to write their life stories but feel inexperienced, intimidated, or afraid to begin.

She explains why there is an important difference between journaling for personal healing, writing one meaningful book, and developing the long-term craft required to become a professional writer. Her message is honest: your story matters, but turning life into a book requires choices, structure, skill, and a willingness to leave some things out.

Cinda is the author of:

This Godforsaken Place
A Small Compass
Everything I Hope For
Past Convictions

Her work blends Canadian history, courageous women, adventure, romance, resistance, and the timeless struggle to build a meaningful life. Her official website lists these novels and describes her work as historical fiction centred on women’s adventures, courage, autonomy, and possibility.

If you enjoy conversations about women’s history, historical fiction, writing books, strong female characters, Canadian history, personal freedom, and women finding their voices, this episode is for you.

Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for inspiring life stories, practical business tools, writing guidance, and honest conversations with experts and courageous women from around the world.

Come for the conversation. Leave with a story, lesson, or idea that helps you move forward.

Learn more about Cinda Gault:
website: https://www.cindagault.com
FB: CindaGault
Instagram: @Cinda Gault
X: Cinda Gault

Story Coaching. Sales Confidence. Podcast Visibility.
Linkedin: Cinda Gault

Subscribe to Julie Fairhurst and Women Like Me:
@juliefairhurstWLM

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Why do smart, capable women entrepreneurs struggle with money anxiety, underpricing and the constant fear that there will never be enough?

In this powerful conversation, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Scarlett Stanhope, also known as The Biz Hippie, to explore money mindset, scarcity, financial safety and why earning more money does not automatically make you feel secure.

Scarlett explains that abundance is not simply a number in your bank account. It is a relationship built around three things:

• How you think about money
• How you feel about money
• How you use money

Together, Julie and Scarlett uncover the three scarcity beliefs that can quietly sabotage a woman’s business:

Not enoughness: The fear that there will never be enough clients, money, time or opportunity.

Unworthiness: The belief that you do not deserve to earn more, receive support or charge what your work is truly worth.

Starving artist syndrome: The idea that meaningful, creative or heart-centred work should not be highly profitable.

Scarlett shares how these beliefs affect pricing, selling, receiving money and everyday business decisions. She also explains why even successful entrepreneurs and seven-figure earners can continue to feel financially trapped.

In this episode, you will discover:

• How to recognize a scarcity mindset in your business
• Why money avoidance creates more anxiety
• How tracking your finances can create calm and clarity
• The connection between self-worth and pricing
• How to stop undercharging for your services
• Why financial safety is emotional as well as practical
• How to make business decisions from possibility instead of fear
• Why earning more will not heal an unhealthy relationship with money
• How women entrepreneurs can receive money without guilt or shame

This is not another conversation telling you to simply think positively and wait for abundance to appear. It is a grounded discussion about combining mindset, emotional healing and practical financial habits.

If you have ever avoided looking at your bank account, questioned your prices, felt guilty receiving money or worked harder while feeling less secure, this episode is for you.

Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for honest conversations about women, entrepreneurship, personal growth, visibility, selling and building a business that supports the life you truly want.

Share this episode with a woman who needs to hear that wanting financial security does not make her greedy—and charging appropriately does not make her selfish.

About Scarlett Stanhope

Scarlett Stanhope, also known as The Biz Hippie, helps entrepreneurs transform their relationship with money, own their value, and create businesses that financially support the work and lives they love.

The Biz Hippie LLC

https://thebizhippie.com

https://instagram.com/thebizhippie

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

What happens when you've achieved everything you were told would make you happy… but something inside keeps whispering, "There's more."

In this inspiring episode, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Kathy Robinson, founder of Athena Wellness, author, and former Fortune 250 Chief Audit Executive and Chief Risk Officer, to explore what it really takes to leave a successful corporate career and create a life that's aligned with who you truly are.

Together, they discuss:

✔️ How to know when a chapter of your life is complete
 ✔️ The hidden grief of leaving a successful career
 ✔️ Fear vs. intuition—and how to tell the difference
 ✔️ Why high achievers struggle to slow down
 ✔️ Letting go of identity tied to work and achievement
 ✔️ Nature-based coaching and "walking with a question"
 ✔️ The sailboat metaphor that changes how you think about success
 ✔️ Finding clarity through stillness instead of constant striving
 ✔️ Practical tools to reconnect with yourself during life's transitions

If you're standing at a crossroads, questioning your career, searching for more meaning, or wondering if it's finally time to trust yourself, this conversation will remind you that your next chapter doesn't have to be forced—it can be discovered.

❤️ If you enjoyed this conversation, please Like, Subscribe, and Share. Your support helps us bring more inspiring stories to women around the world.

Athena Wellness
https://athenawellness.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathybrobinson-athenawellness/

https://athenawellness.com/sage
(a guide that includes three practices to connect to your inner wisdom)

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

One hour a week with your child is a heartbreaking reality — especially when it is court-ordered. For Kate Markland, that painful limitation became the beginning of something unexpectedly beautiful: a mother and son rebuilding their bond through stories.

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Kate Markland to talk about parenting connection, children’s creativity, storytelling, writing confidence, and the power of giving children permission to become the hero of their own story.

Kate shares how she began reading aloud to her son over FaceTime, and how that simple act of connection grew into published children’s books and a classroom-tested method she calls StoryQuest.

We talk about the heart and structure behind her approach, including:

• The storyteller and the scribe
•  Why open-ended questions matter
•  How messy bullet points can unlock creativity
•  Why perfect paragraphs are not the starting point
•  How illustrations can help reluctant writers
•  How AI art tools can support imagination
•  Why spelling and grammar should not be the gatekeepers of creativity

This conversation goes far beyond children’s writing. Kate explains why the blank page is not only a writing problem — it can also be a self-leadership problem.

We discuss what happens when children are constantly corrected, how rules and bias can shrink young voices, and why girls especially may grow into women who silence parts of themselves long before they ever realize it.

Kate also shares practical tools for hard seasons, including choosing one thing to win the day and naming three wins at night to build confidence, momentum, and resilience.

This episode is for parents, teachers, writers, creatives, and anyone who cares about children’s voices, imagination, emotional connection, and reclaiming the parts of ourselves that were corrected, quieted, or left behind.

Because sometimes a story is not just a story. Sometimes it is a bridge back to love.

Subscribe for more conversations about women’s stories, writing, healing, parenting, creativity, business, and the courage to be heard.

StoryQuest
https://www.storyquestglobal.com/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kate-markland

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Inflation is hitting hard — at the grocery store, at the gas pump, and even at the movies. But what if one of your highest monthly costs could stay fixed while almost everything else keeps rising?

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Adiel Gorel, CEO of International Capital Group, to talk about how everyday people can use US real estate investing to build long-term wealth, passive income, and retirement security.

Adiel shares his journey from electrical engineering and Silicon Valley research to buying rental properties and helping others invest in real estate. He explains why he moved from local investing to remote rental homes when the numbers stopped making sense, and how professional property management can make investing easier for people who do not want to become full-time landlords.

We talk about why brand new homes may reduce unexpected repair costs, how a “start with one” approach can lower fear for first-time investors, and what happened when Adiel led a group of engineers who collectively bought hundreds of rental homes.

A major part of this conversation is the power of the US 30-year fixed rate mortgage. Adiel explains how fixed mortgage payments can become easier to manage over time as inflation rises, why the real weight of debt may shrink, and why early cash flow is not the only number investors should consider.

We also discuss the difference between the US mortgage system and Canada’s mortgage renewal risk, the rent-versus-buy question in expensive cities, and the market traits Adiel looks for across the Sunbelt when choosing investment locations.

This conversation is for anyone curious about:

Real estate investing
 Rental property investing
 Passive income
 Retirement planning
 Inflation and debt
 US 30-year fixed mortgages
 Cross-border real estate investing
 Investing from Canada into the US
 Long-term wealth building
 Starting with one rental property

This episode is educational and not financial advice. Always speak with qualified professionals before making investment decisions.

If you have ever wondered whether you missed the real estate market, this episode may help you see a different path. Sometimes wealth does not begin with a giant leap. Sometimes it starts with one smart door.

Subscribe for more conversations about business, money, visibility, reinvention, and building a life with more courage and choice.

Check out Adiel's website; it's full of fantastic information that can help you:

https://icgre.com/event/

https://icgre.com/pressroom/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Laughing on purpose sounds ridiculous — until you feel what it does to your body.

In this uplifting conversation, Julie Fairhurst is joined by Cathy Nesbitt, a certified Laughter Yoga Teacher and Laughter Ambassador, to discuss laughter as a practical wellness tool for women who feel stressed, exhausted, overwhelmed, or emotionally maxed out.

Cathy shares how she went from running a worm composting business to teaching intentional laughter, and why this work matters even more in a world where stress has become the default setting.

Julie and Cathy explore what Laughter Yoga actually is — no flexibility required — and what a session can look like in long-term care, community groups, and everyday life. Cathy explains why group laughter is so contagious and how intentional laughter can help the body shift from stress and tension toward more joy, connection, and release.

In simple, grounded language, Cathy breaks down the wellness benefits of laughter, including deep diaphragmatic breathing, increased oxygen, nervous system support, and what she calls your daily D.O.S.E. of feel-good chemicals: dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins.

They also talk about mirror neurons, why laughter sometimes shows up at “inappropriate” moments, and how those unexpected reactions may be your nervous system looking for safety and release.

If you’ve ever thought, “I don’t feel like laughing,” this episode is for you. Cathy offers a compassionate way in, reminding us that simulated laughter can still support the body and that laughter can work alongside therapy, medication, healing, and other wellness tools.

This conversation also touches on supportive practices like tapping, Brain Gym cross-crawls, qigong-style movement, grounding outdoors, choosing music over doomscrolling, and building small habits that bring more lightness into your day.

If you are tired, stressed, heavy-hearted, or simply ready for a lighter way to move through life, this episode is a gentle reset.

Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a lighter day, and leave a comment with one thing that helps you come back to joy.

Cathy's Chuckle Club
https://www.cathysclub.com/

https://www.cathyscomposters.com/
https://www.cathysclub.com/
https://www.cathyssprouters.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathynesbitt/
https://www.youtube.com/@CathyLaughter 
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559438955975

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Your calendar can look “full” and still be empty of you.

In this powerful conversation, Julie Fairhurst sits down with author and speaker Paula Mathias to unpack the quiet way women disappear inside lives that look fine from the outside. Together, they explore how women can come back to themselves through practical, repeatable choices — one pause, one boundary, one honest no at a time.

Paula draws on her years as a technical recruiter in the tech industry, where she saw the same pattern again and again: women get hired, then struggle to stay when they do not feel heard, are interrupted, and carry extra emotional and invisible labor just to belong.

Julie and Paula talk candidly about imposter syndrome, being the only woman in the room, workplace confidence, invisible labor, burnout, overgiving, and the lifelong conditioning that teaches girls to be quiet, helpful, agreeable, and easy to like — even when those habits quietly cost them their careers, their wellbeing, and their voice.

Paula also shares her powerful Yes Test Method:

Is it yours?
Is it essential?
Is it sustainable?

From the “office mom” snack story to the pressure of being the default person at home, this episode gets real about how boundaries are actually built in everyday life. You’ll hear how to pause before the automatic yes, try a “no for now,” negotiate instead of overfunctioning, and remember that someone else’s emergency does not always have to become your priority.

This conversation is for the woman who is tired, stuck, resentful, overbooked, overneeded, and quietly wondering where she went.

It’s time to stop disappearing inside everyone else’s needs.

Subscribe, share this with a woman who needs a stronger no, and leave a comment with the boundary you are practicing next.

Paula Mathias, Author and Speaker
https://paulamathias.com/

Books: 
The YES Test: https://a.co/d/08mQsqJu
Speak Up: https://a.co/d/06iE4lWS

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Have you ever wanted to write your life story but stopped because you thought, “What if I’m not interesting enough?” or “What if people judge me?” or “What if writing it brings all the pain back?”

In this episode, Julie Fairhurst shares a steady, compassionate way for women to begin writing their personal stories without forcing themselves to relive every wound.

You’ll learn why women’s stories matter, why visibility can feel so uncomfortable, and how to begin with one honest moment instead of trying to write your whole life at once. Julie also talks about the difference between writing from the wound and writing from the wisdom — because your story is not just about what happened to you. It is about what you learned, survived, carried, healed, and now have the courage to say.

This episode is for the woman who knows there is something inside her worth writing, but she needs permission, structure, and a safe place to begin.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why so many women dismiss their own stories
• How fear of judgment keeps women silent
• Why your life does not have to be dramatic to be meaningful
• How to start writing with one honest moment
• How to turn memory into meaning
• Why writing your story can become an act of courage, healing, and legacy

Your story counts. Your voice matters. And somewhere, there may be a woman waiting for the words only you can write.

What is one moment from your life you are ready to write first? Share it in the comments.

Subscribe for more videos on writing, publishing, women’s stories, visibility, book marketing, and turning your lived experience into words that matter.

Julie Fairhurst is a writing coach, publisher, business strategist, podcast host, and founder of Women Like Me. With 34 years in sales and marketing, Julie helps women authors and women in business write their stories, publish their books, clarify their message, and use their voices with courage, confidence, and heart. Through Women Like Me, Julie has supported women in sharing true-life stories, building visibility, and turning lived experience into legacy, healing, and meaningful impact.

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Loneliness can be one of the strangest parts of motherhood. You can be doing school drop-offs, standing at the park, surrounded by people, and still feel like a real connection is missing.

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Aaronna Martin, an HR professional, mom, blogger, truth teller, and founder of HR Next Door, for an honest conversation about motherhood, loneliness, burnout, identity, friendship, and what happens when women finally say the quiet things out loud.

Aaronna shares the pressure many mothers feel to be the “perfect mom,” how burnout can show up at home after giving everything away all day, and why social media can make real life feel like it is falling short. She opens up about being “one and done,” how an emergency C-section and early motherhood shifted her sense of identity, and why she began writing at 3 a.m. just to get the feelings out.

What began as private journaling became blogging — and when Aaronna shared her truth, other women reached back with the words so many of us are waiting to hear: “me too.”

We also talk about motherhood and entrepreneurship, including Aaronna’s journey building her consulting firm, HR Next Door. She shares why starting a business can feel exciting and lonely at the same time, the humbling reality of building from scratch, and why finding your people through mom groups, coworking communities, networking circles, and women’s friendships matters more than we admit.

If you are looking for honest motherhood conversations, postpartum loneliness support, women in business stories, mom burnout recovery, or a more human version of work-life balance, this episode will feel like a deep exhale.

Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for more real conversations with women who are telling the truth, building meaningful lives, and reminding others they are not alone.

Here are a few ways to reach out to Aaroona:

https://www.instagram.com/hr_next_door/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Starting over at 40 is rarely a clean reset. Most of the time, it is a messy rebuild while life keeps moving.

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with entrepreneur, author, and speaker Kira Hartley Klinger for a brutally honest conversation about rebuilding your life, your income, and your confidence without a perfect resume, a college degree, or a pile of startup money.

Kira shares how she went from single-mom scramble mode to generating real income through auctions, eBay reselling, Etsy, vintage fabric, and relentless reinvesting. What began as survival turned into business, and what began as trial and error became proof that women can start again with grit, instinct, and one brave next step.

We talk about impostor syndrome, confidence, debt-free living, reselling online, building an Etsy shop, free marketing, self-publishing, book marketing, and why Amazon will not sell your book unless you show up and do the work.

Kira also shares what it was like to publish her first book at 55 after writing for decades, and why it is never too late to become the woman you were quietly becoming all along.

This conversation is for women who are thinking about midlife entrepreneurship, starting a side hustle, selling on eBay, opening an Etsy shop, self-publishing a book, getting out of debt, or finally trusting themselves again.

If you have ever felt stuck, underestimated, unqualified, or too late, this episode is your reminder: you are not too late. You are in the rebuild.

Subscribe for more honest conversations with women entrepreneurs, authors, speakers, and everyday women turning their stories into strength.

Where you can find Kira:

https://a.co/d/0aVjfuVQ

https://www.instagram.com/dododdity?

igsh=ejN5aG1lenk5YWtk&utm_source=qr
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kira-hartley-klinger-319a68a5?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

https://www.facebook.com/share/1H9akapnTT/?mibextid=wwXIfr

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

You can be the person who commands the boardroom and still feel like you are disappearing at home.

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Christine Dillard, author of The Truth She Showed Me, for an honest conversation about surviving coercive control, gaslighting, emotional abuse, and the long journey back to yourself after a 17-year marriage that slowly stripped away her confidence, peace, and sense of reality.

Christine shares what nonphysical abuse can look like behind closed doors: the angry outbursts that train you to overcompensate, the sudden “crises” that happen when you try to leave the house, the loss of alone time, and the quiet isolation that can leave a woman exhausted, confused, and questioning herself.

We talk about the moment Christine realized what she was living through was not normal, and why leaving an abusive relationship is rarely as simple as walking away. Children, finances, health insurance, custody fears, housing, and safety can all make leaving a careful, complicated process. Christine also speaks to the shame many high-performing women carry in silence — looking strong, capable, and successful in public while privately falling apart.

This conversation also explores the way the body often tells the truth before the mind is ready to say it out loud. Insomnia, tight shoulders, racing heart, high blood pressure, chronic stress, and emotional exhaustion can all become signals that something is deeply wrong.

Christine offers compassion for women who are still asking, “Is it really that bad?” Her answer is steady and clear: if you are asking the question, there is a reason.

This episode is for the woman who looks fine on the outside but knows something inside her is begging to be heard. It is also for the friend, sister, daughter, coworker, or loved one who may need help recognizing the signs.

If this conversation brings someone to mind, please share it with them. And if it speaks to you, subscribe, leave a review, and pass Christine’s book along to the person who needs the words.

Grab the book:  https://a.co/d/09hZgN94

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/14iCRuWPw52/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetruthsheshowedme?igsh=NHNkM3FvdHFudHl5&utm_source=qr

TikTok:  http://www.tiktok.com/@thetruthsheshowedme

YouTube:  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfegJXZIx0hrrKg8dwu92A4GEE3beNqCD&si=3r4ifSfbRbD9JDob

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3vIkMeX4ZO1SI34qsacluE?si=nINeGlg5Qg60uixjInRVRg&pi=jL2qLRERSvmmh

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

You can have the MBA, the title, the polished life on paper, and still feel a hollow ache you cannot explain.

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Shakti Sharma, founder of the Feminine Wealth Movement, to discuss feminine wealth, intuition, money mindset, and what happens when women entrepreneurs stop building success through pressure and start listening to their inner wisdom.

Shakti shares the powerful moment that changed everything for her: a late-pregnancy breaking point that became a clear call to stop living by other people’s expectations and start trusting her intuition.

We talk about what feminine wealth really means for mission-driven women, coaches, creatives, healers, authors, and entrepreneurs who are tired of hustle culture and ready to build success with more alignment, ease, and truth.

Shakti also shares a memorable magnet-and-insulator analogy that will help you see sales in a completely different way. Not as rejection. Not as pressure. Not as proving your worth. But as truth, alignment, and energetic clarity.

If you are a woman entrepreneur who feels tired of pushing, forcing, over-giving, or trying to succeed in ways that no longer fit your body, your values, or your soul, this conversation is your sacred pause.

Listen in and be reminded: wealth is not just what you earn. It is how you live, lead, sell, receive, and trust yourself.

If this episode speaks to you, please subscribe, share it with another woman who needs to hear it, and leave a review so more women can find these conversations.

The Feminine Wealth Movement
https://femininewealthmovement.com

Invitation to your complimentary session
🌟 Put together your expanded income plan by closing any opportunity gaps in your marketing and sales efforts.
🌟 Clarify your energetic plan for tapping into wealth flow and manifesting your next level goals.

https://femininewealthmovement.com/wealth-breakthrough

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Seven marriages can sound like a headline, but Jo Ann Fawcett’s story is really about something quieter and harder: how easy it is to confuse loyalty with losing yourself.

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Jo Ann Fawcett to talk about narcissistic abuse, codependency, toxic relationship patterns, and what it takes to reclaim yourself after years of self-abandonment.

Jo Ann shares how the belief of “not enough” can begin early, how codependent patterns are often learned in families, and why repeating the same relationship dynamic can feel inevitable until you finally get the language to understand what is happening.

She also shares the powerful moment in early 2020 when things began to shift, from a psychic development exercise about cutting energetic cords to noticing a therapist’s sign that read “narcissistic abuse.” That moment opened the door to a deeper understanding of the red flags she had missed or normalized for years.

Julie and Jo Ann talk honestly about blame-shifting, gaslighting, financial drain, never being allowed to offer criticism, and the slow erosion of confidence that can happen inside toxic marriages. They also explore Jo Ann's memoir, The Prince Was Wrong, and the question at the heart of so many painful relationships: when does endurance become self-abandonment?

This conversation is also about healing. Jo Ann explains how writing, journaling, and therapy helped her process the past, break generational patterns, and begin building a life that feels free. She also shares the spiritual side of her journey, including the unseen world, energetic healing, and the practices that help her feel grounded and connected again.

If you have ever felt trapped, ashamed, confused, or afraid to name what was happening in a relationship, this episode is a reminder that you are not alone, you are not broken, and it is never too late to come back to yourself.

Subscribe for more conversations about women’s stories, healing, writing, courage, reinvention, relationships, and reclaiming your voice.

website: joannfawcett.com
IG: jo.ann.fawcett.author
linktr.ee/joannfawcett
FB: https://www.facebook.com/jo.a.richards.5
FB author page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550718740785
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-ann-fawcett-a7b

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Getting fired can wreck your confidence, or it can clarify your priorities fast.

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Jen Kornoely to discuss entrepreneurship, money mindset, pricing confidence, and the hard lessons many women learn when they become their own bosses.

After losing a corporate job for reasons unrelated to performance, Jen made a powerful decision: she would never again let anyone else control her income, stability, or options. What began as a photography hobby became a real estate photography business, but the dream of being her own boss quickly met the reality of taxes, cash flow, pricing, and understanding that revenue is not the same as take-home pay.

Julie and Jen dig into personal finance for women and why money conversations are essential for entrepreneurship. They explore why so many women underprice their work, how scarcity thinking shows up in business decisions, and what changes when women start having honest conversations about value, numbers, negotiation, and financial confidence.

Jen also shares how personal development books and business books helped her advocate for herself, grow her confidence, and think differently about business. She talks about accessible learning tools like Libby and Hoopla, and why you do not need to pay MBA-level prices to start building your business and financial knowledge.

The conversation also explores Jen’s women-only community, She Reads, She Leads Book Club, where women vote on business, finance, and mindset books each month and meet on Zoom to turn ideas into action. This is not just about reading more books. It is about implementation over inspiration, learning what to keep, what to leave behind, and why community can become a genuine business strategy.

If you are a woman entrepreneur, author, coach, creative, photographer, service provider, or home-based business owner who has felt isolated, unsure about pricing, or ready to get smarter with money and business, this episode will give you practical next steps and a serious boost of momentum.

Subscribe for more conversations about women in business, money mindset, confidence, visibility, entrepreneurship, storytelling, and reinvention.

She Reads She Leads Book Club
https://www.shereadssheleads.com/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Fear can sound like wisdom when it is really just an old alarm system trying to keep us small.

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Canadian life strategist, speaker, and author Bernice McDonald for an honest and deeply encouraging conversation about fear, confidence, identity, and what it means for midlife women to become brave enough without pretending to be fearless.

Bernice shares the heart of her Tiny Brave Steps methodology and explains why big goals can feel overwhelming when they look like a canyon away. Instead of forcing women to leap, Bernice teaches them how to build a bridge, one small, doable step at a time.

Together, Julie and Bernice talk about why the brain responds better to small actions, how momentum comes back once you start moving, and how each tiny brave step becomes evidence that you can trust yourself again. Bernice also introduces her memorable way of working with fear, including “Fred,” the little dragon who wants to protect you but does not get to drive.

This conversation also explores why many women feel like they disappear in midlife, how identity shapes behavior, and why choosing who you want to become matters more than waiting for confidence to magically arrive.

If you have been avoiding visibility, delaying a dream, telling yourself it is too late, or waiting until you feel ready, this episode will give you practical mindset tools, clear next steps, and a powerful reminder that your gifts still matter.

Subscribe for more conversations about women’s stories, healing, confidence, reinvention, visibility, writing, business, and brave new beginnings.

REACH OUT TO BERNICE:
www.tinybravesteps.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernicemcdonald/
https://www.facebook.com/bmcdonaldcoaching

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

“Watch me” hits different when it is no longer a slogan, but the moment you stop asking for permission.

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst is joined by Renee Carbone Fleming, founder of Bad Ass Queen, for a powerful conversation about reinvention, visibility, confidence, and choosing yourself when the people around you do not yet understand your vision.

Renee shares how she rebuilt her life after divorce and bankruptcy, and how those experiences shaped the mindset behind her Watch Me Method. Together, Julie and Renee talk about why so many talented women entrepreneurs are hiding in plain sight, the fear that keeps them quiet, and the “approval tax” women often pay when they wait for permission, validation, or consensus before taking action.

This episode explores Renee’s Watch Me Method, including how to withdraw from explanation, act without approval, take up space publicly, commit without consensus, and hold the vision even when no one else can see it yet.

You will also hear practical tools for building confidence, including a daily voice-memo routine, a healthier way to approach sales and persuasion, and how personal branding helps women stand out without pretending to be someone they are not. Renee also shares why AI matters for business growth right now and how entrepreneurs can use it with more intention.

If you are a woman entrepreneur, coach, author, speaker, creator, or business owner who is ready to stop shrinking, start showing up, and lead with your full voice, this conversation is for you.

Subscribe for more conversations about women’s stories, business, healing, reinvention, visibility, authorship, and courageous leadership.

WAYS TO CONNECT WITH RENEE:
https://badassqueen.co
https://www.instagram.com/reneecarbonefleming
https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneecarbonefleming
https://www.facebook.com/thereneecarbonefleming

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Saying “no” should not feel like you are committing a crime, but for many professional women, boundaries bring up guilt, fear, shame, and second-guessing.

In this powerful conversation, Julie Fairhurst sits down with boundaries coach, speaker, and podcaster Barb Nangle to discuss codependency, people-pleasing, family dysfunction, and the deep inner work required to stop overgiving at the expense of your own peace.

Barb shares the raw story of what she calls her “codependent bottom” and how 12-step recovery helped her completely rewire the way she relates to others and to herself. We explore what codependency looks like in everyday life: rescuing, managing other people’s emotions, staying constantly available, and using approval to feel safe.

This episode also dives into Al-Anon, CODA, ACA, Overeaters Anonymous, shame, guilt, nervous system safety, and why boundary setting is not just about saying the right words. It is about learning to stay with yourself when discomfort shows up.

Barb offers powerful language for women who are tired of being the dependable one while quietly losing themselves. Her reminder that “discomfort does not mean danger” may be the mindset shift that helps you stop backpedaling and start choosing yourself.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What codependency really looks like in daily life
• Why professional women struggle to say no
• The difference between guilt and shame
• How family dysfunction shapes people-pleasing patterns
• Why boundaries are nervous system work
• The role of 12-step recovery in healing codependency
• How overgiving turns into resentment
• Barb’s two powerful questions: “What’s my motive?” and “Does this align with my highest good?”
• How to create internal safety and stop abandoning yourself

If you have ever felt guilty about having needs, afraid of disappointing people, or exhausted from being the one everyone counts on, this conversation will meet you right where you are.

Subscribe for more honest conversations with women who are healing, leading, writing, growing, and telling the truth.

Reach out to Barb:
Free 30-minute "Say No without Guilt" call: http://barbchat.net/
podcast: https://higherpowercc.com/podcast
https://higherpowercc.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/barb-nangle 
https://www.youtube.com/@higherpowercoaching
Internal Safety Course: "Boundaries That Hold: How to Stop Overriding Yourself In Real Time." https://higherpowercc.com/boundariesthathold/

Hosted by Julie Fairhurst
Women Like Me Stories & Business

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Your body is talking all day long, but most of us only listen when it starts shouting. I’m joined by Fran Bailey, a Cincinnati-based healer, author, trainer, and speaker, to unpack how women can reconnect to themselves through grounded energy work, honest self-inquiry, and a practical approach to chakra meditation that doesn’t require a “quiet mind” to begin.

Fran shares the story of what shaped her work, from growing up in a metaphysical home and expressing herself through dance to a near-death experience at age 12 that shifted her sense of purpose. We talk about how the Shiva Method blends spirituality, body work, connection, and personal development so you can stop living on autopilot and start noticing where your energy is leaking. Along the way, we dig into why comparison and quick self-judgment keep so many women stuck, and why the simplest question can be the most radical: what do I need for me today?

We also go deeper into the mind-body connection and holistic healing. Fran explains how stress and emotional survival mode can show up as physical symptoms, why shame can intensify a health crisis, and how consistent guided meditation can help you clear what you’re carrying. If you’re a highly sensitive person or empath who absorbs everyone else’s moods, you’ll hear clear language for boundaries, energy protection, and what it means to pull your energy back before you spiral into overgiving.

If this conversation helps you breathe a little easier, subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next, share it with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review so more women can find these stories. What’s one place you know you need to come back to yourself?

Get Started TODAY with The SHEVA Method! 
Download your FREE "Your Self Inquiry Workbook and Video"  at https://franbaileyhealer.com

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

A great book can open doors, but the wrong publishing deal can quietly take away your control, your revenue, and your rights.

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Michele De Filippo, owner of 1106 Design LLC, to talk about what independent publishing should really look like when the author stays in control.

Michele breaks down the confusing world of hybrid publishers, self-publishing companies, free ISBNs, royalty arrangements, distribution control, and publishing red flags that every author needs to understand before signing anything.

We talk about why a “free ISBN” may mean someone else becomes the publisher of record, why “we pay you royalties” can be a warning sign, and why promises like “guaranteed bestseller” or “bookstores worldwide” are often more smoke and mirrors than real opportunity.

This conversation is especially important for first-time authors, women writing their stories, and anyone who has felt overwhelmed, pressured, or confused by the publishing process.

Website: https://1106design.com
Email: md@1106design.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/1106design 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2771108/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1106design

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

“I’m fine” might be one of the most expensive phrases high-achieving women say.

When life looks good on paper but something still feels missing, it does not mean you are ungrateful. It may be a signal that your soul is asking for more truth, more joy, more alignment, and more purpose.

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Connie Cotter, a faith-forward, joy-driven transformation coach and certified high-performance coach, to talk about what it really means to move from a life that looks fine into one that feels deeply fulfilled.

Connie shares how her years in IT training and leadership taught her to optimize systems, and how she now applies that same wisdom to helping women optimize their lives from the inside out. Together, we explore why “good enough” can quietly become a cage, why women often feel guilty for wanting more, and how joy can become a daily choice rather than a fleeting feeling.

We also talk about Connie’s work around Beyond the Good Life, and how “more” does not always mean more money, more status, or more achievement. Sometimes more means better relationships, deeper faith, greater impact, more freedom, and the ability to give generously from a full heart.

If you are facing a life transition, feeling burned out, wondering who you are beyond your roles, or quietly asking, “Is this all there is?” — this conversation will meet you right where you are.

In this episode, we talk about:

Why “I’m fine” can hide burnout, disconnection, and quiet longing
The difference between happiness and lasting joy
Why high-achieving women often feel guilty for wanting more
How to know when you are busy but not aligned
What it means to move beyond the good life into a fulfilled life
How faith, joy, and purpose can guide your next chapter
Connie’s three-question reset for clarity
Why the second half of life can become your most powerful season
The simple daily habit Connie recommends for restoring calm and wonder

Sometimes the life that looks good is still asking to feel honest. This conversation is a beautiful reminder that wanting more does not make you selfish. It may be the doorway to the life you were meant to live next.

If this episode speaks to you, please subscribe, leave a comment, and share it with a friend who keeps saying, “I’m fine,” when you know there is more waiting for her.

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Some of the most “together” people you know are not really living. They are surviving — and the mask can be very convincing.

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Lisa Lacey, author and speaker, to talk about what often goes unnamed: high-functioning survival, hidden trauma, addiction, mental health, and the exhausting cost of being praised for carrying everything.

Lisa shares the story behind her upcoming memoir, Notes of a Certified Madwoman, and opens up about the moment she could no longer keep pushing through near-death medical scares, shame, addiction, and a full mental health psychosis. From the outside, life can look successful, polished, and powerful. But inside, a woman may be quietly collapsing.

This conversation names the roles so many women slip into without even realizing it: the good girl, the people pleaser, the hyper-independent one, the workaholic, the leader who cannot ask for help, and the “strong one” who feels guilty for needing rest.

Julie and Lisa also talk about why addiction is not a moral failure, why trauma is not something to compete over, and why healing requires honesty, support systems, healthier relationships, and the courage to tell the truth.

Connect with Lacy:  https://www.lisalacy.com/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

A throwaway workplace comment — “the boss’s shiny new toy” — cracks open a much bigger truth: many of us are not chasing excellence, we are chasing safety.

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Jessica King, a licensed social worker, speaker, and founder of Elder Care Collaborative, for a powerful conversation about trauma, identity, burnout, workplace patterns, and the hidden cost of always being capable.

Jessica shares how trauma adaptations often get rewarded at work: hypervigilance that looks like leadership, people pleasing that passes as teamwork, emotional suppression disguised as professionalism, and overworking that earns applause until your nervous system finally taps out.

We talk about Jessica’s own turning point after a job loss during COVID triggered an identity crisis and panic attack, and we name the kind of exhaustion that sleep cannot fix. This conversation also explores blame as part of grief, “pathological hope” for an apology that may never come, and how forgiveness can bring peace without excusing harm or tolerating unprofessional behavior.

Jessica also shares the powerful “rock” metaphor for generational trauma and offers practical tools for boundaries, overhelping, and overexplaining. Then we shift to her work with Elder Care Collaborative, where she supports families with elder care navigation, Medicare education, advocacy, and care coordination, especially women in the sandwich generation who are balancing careers, children, and aging parents.

If you have ever been praised for being strong, dependable, productive, or endlessly helpful while quietly falling apart inside, this episode will speak directly to you.

Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for more conversations about healing, resilience, business, caregiving, leadership, and the stories that help women rise.

Connect with Jessica:

www.eldercarecollaborativepa.care
https://www.facebook.com/eldercarecollaborative/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-king-msw-lsw-4ba724187/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Your teen can be busy, successful, and smiling while still feeling crushed inside, and that gap is where so many families start to lose each other.

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Dr. Carla Caturia, an educator with more than 20 years in schools and the coach behind House of Rise, to talk about what teens are really carrying, why parents often miss the warning signs, and what families can do before pressure turns into burnout.

We talk honestly about teen anxiety, comparison, perfectionism, high-achieving teens, and the painful “I’m not good enough” loop that can quietly shape a young person’s identity. Dr. Carla explains why teens often shut down even when parents are trying to help, and how our instinct to fix everything can inadvertently undermine their confidence, voice, and autonomy.

She shares a simple communication shift that can build trust quickly: ask your teen whether they want you to listen, help problem-solve, or celebrate. From there, we explore emotional intelligence, resilience, self-confidence, identity, and why emotional regulation is one of the first skills that gives teens their power back.

We also talk about parenting guilt, grace, nervous system regulation, social media pressure, realistic boundaries, and small ways parents can reconnect with their teens without turning family life into one more performance.

If you are looking for parenting teens support, teen mental health tools, better parent-child communication, or practical language to help your teen feel seen, this conversation will give you something you can use today.

Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for more conversations about healing, family, leadership, emotional wellness, and the stories that help us rise.

Find Dr. Carla here:

Website:  https://thehouseofrise.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/carlacaturia

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-carla-caturia/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

She didn’t set out to become “the woman who rode across America.” She just needed proof that her life still belonged to her.

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with author, podcaster, and speaker Teri M Brown for an honest conversation about rebuilding after an emotionally abusive marriage, finding courage after years of self-doubt, and choosing one brave, unreasonable goal anyway.

Teri shares what life looked like before and after leaving her marriage in 2017, including the healing, fear, freedom, and rebuilding that followed. We talk about what it means to reclaim your voice, especially after years spent without a safe space to be creative, take risks, or fully trust yourself.

Then came the tandem bicycle — and a 3,102-mile ride across the United States during COVID. Terri opens up about the physical struggle, emotional breakdowns, mental spirals, and surprising strength she discovered along the way. Her story is a reminder that being emotional does not mean being weak. Sometimes tears are just the soul sweating.

We also talk about reinvention after 50, writing messy first drafts, becoming a published author, finding honest and kind feedback, and taking one practical step when life feels too big.

If you are craving a second act, a creative comeback, or a way out of “I’m not enough,” this conversation will give you language, courage, and a path forward.

Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for more conversations with women who are turning lived experience into wisdom, healing, leadership, and impact.

Want to connect to Teri?
Website:  www.terimbrown.com

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Your past does not get to vote on your future, unless you let it.

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with executive leader, author, and professional speaker Victoria Pelletier for an honest conversation about what it really means to be unstoppable.

Victoria shares the mindset, resilience, sacrifice, and daily choices behind high achievement. We talk about why strong women often confuse resilience with never needing rest, why life integration matters more than chasing perfect balance, and how leaders can create workplaces where people are seen as whole human beings.

This conversation also goes deep into executive presence, workplace power dynamics, personal branding for women, and what to do when you walk into a room feeling outnumbered, overlooked, or underestimated.

You’ll hear practical wisdom on owning your seat, finding allies, building confidence, growing credibility, and learning how to stop apologizing for your ambition.

If you are a woman in leadership, business, transition, or reinvention, this episode will remind you that you are not here to shrink. You are here to rise.

Subscribe to Women Like Me Stories & Business for more conversations with women who are turning lived experience into wisdom, purpose, leadership, and impact.

Ways to connect with Victoria:

Website:  https://victoria-pelletier.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Victoria.Pelletier.Unstoppable/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria_pelletier_unstoppable/?hl=en

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VictoriaPelletierUnstoppable

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

The overdose crisis is often talked about like a statistic, but behind every loss is a family, a story, a mother, a child, a friend, and a grief that does not end.

In this powerful conversation, Julie Fairhurst sits down with her dear friend Brenda-Lee Hunter on the eve of her book launch, Echoes of Love, Voices of Loss, a deeply moving collection built from the real stories of families impacted by the drug crisis in British Columbia and beyond.

Brenda-Lee shares why overdose grief is so often misunderstood, how stigma changes the way families are treated after a loss, and why silence keeps people trapped in shame instead of receiving compassion and support.

We talk about the prescription opioid era, mental health gaps, pain care, today’s unregulated drug supply, safe injection sites, shelters, outreach, treatment access, longer rehab timelines, brain injury from repeated overdoses, and the children who are growing up in the shadow of addiction and trauma.

This is not just a conversation about addiction. It is a conversation about love, loss, families, policy, community, and the urgent need to stop treating grieving people like they have something to hide.

If this episode touches your heart, please share it with someone who needs language for what they are carrying. Subscribe, leave a review, and help us spread stories that can move hearts and push leaders to act.

Join the group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/4101376083451665
Buy the book:
United States
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GZ2SW3D9
Canada 
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0GZ2SW3D9
Website:  https://thelegacymission.com/meet-brenda-lee-hunter

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

“Is it me?” can sound like healthy self-reflection, but in a toxic relationship it can become the trap that keeps you questioning yourself for years.

In this episode, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Carine Van Hee, a visual artist living in Norway, survivor of domestic abuse, and author of Is It Me? The Hidden System Behind Toxic Relationships, to put clear language around the confusing reality of emotional abuse, manipulation, coercive control, and gaslighting.

Carine shares how the death of her mother exposed a painful family truth and pushed her to research the repeatable patterns behind toxic relationships. Together, we talk about why emotional abuse can be so hard to recognize when it is mostly invisible: the early love bombing that feels like a soulmate connection, the gradual isolation, the blame shifting, the walking on eggshells, and the slow erosion of confidence that happens one small moment at a time.

We also explore healing after abuse. Carine explains why leaving is only the first step, how it can take time to “detox” from the abuser’s voice, and what helped her rebuild self-trust through therapy, meditation, movement, and nervous system support.

This conversation goes beyond romantic relationships, because toxic patterns can also show up in families, friendships, workplaces, and communities. When we learn the pattern, we are better able to protect ourselves and support the people we love.

If this episode gives you words for something you could not explain, please share it with someone who may need it, subscribe for more conversations like this, and leave a review so more women can find the support and language they deserve.

Find out more about Carine, her mission, and her book here:

https://www.carinevanhee.com/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Some memories don’t feel like “the past.” They feel like rooms we have locked, avoided, and quietly built our lives around without realizing it.

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with April Day Garcia, author of The Room to Be Brave, to talk about what happens when you finally walk back into the moments that shaped your identity — and decide you do not have to carry the same story out with you.

April shares how sobriety and a near-simultaneous ADHD diagnosis forced a new kind of honesty. From the outside, life may look successful, but inside, old wounds can still be quietly running the show.

Together, Julie and April explore the patterns that often reveal unhealed pain: waiting for abandonment, accepting behavior you do not deserve, shrinking your voice, believing you are “not enough,” and feeling like you do not belong in rooms you have every right to stand in.

April explains why healing can feel safer the second time around — because now you enter with choice, awareness, and the power to leave. She also shares why compassion matters more than judgment when revisiting shame, trauma, and old self-talk.

This conversation also offers practical tools for emotional recovery. Therapy can be powerful, but April believes healing often requires a multi-tool approach, including journaling, meditation, yoga, Reiki, acts of service, and intentionally making space for joy.

By the end of this episode, you will have simple prompts to help you name the identity you were told to be — and choose the one you are brave enough to live as.

If you have been feeling stuck in old self-talk, shame, trauma patterns, or the belief that you are not enough, this conversation will meet you with truth, compassion, and hope.

Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more women can find these stories and start doing the work too.

Reach out to April:  https://www.aprildaygarcia.com/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

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A brand-new book goes live, and a brand-new voice steps forward.

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst is joined by Zainab Akintelu, author of Unsilenced: A Journey From Silence To Voice, written under the author name Queen Zee.

Calling in from Nigeria, Zainab shares the heart behind her memoir and the three words that keep showing up for women who are ready to change their lives: healing, becoming, and rising.

Get her book on Amazon:  

UNSILENCED : A journey from silence to voice

Follow Zainab on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/zainab.akintelu

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

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She thought it was the flu. Then she woke up with a gut-level warning that would not let go: get to the hospital now.

Holly Porter’s oxygen was at 63, her organs were shutting down, and what followed was a 70-day fight through COVID, ICU care, intubations, a tracheotomy, sepsis, and the kind of medical uncertainty that changes a person forever.

In this powerful episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Holly walks us through the disorienting reality of losing her senses, the emotional whiplash of coming back after a near-death experience, and why intuition became more than a buzzword in her life.

We also talk about the hard, unglamorous middle — long COVID recovery, rebuilding strength, the mindset shift behind her daily mantra “better is better,” and what it takes to keep moving forward without living in victim mode.

From there, we connect the spiritual to the practical. Holly shares how her SHIFT framework — surrender, hope, intuition, faith, and transformation — shapes her leadership, why community accelerates healing, and why she believes retreats can become powerful catalysts for real change.

Holly also shares what she would say to any woman who has survived something life-altering but still feels afraid to tell her story.

If you are navigating illness, burnout, reinvention, grief, recovery, or a new calling you can’t ignore, this conversation will meet you where you are and challenge you to take one brave next step.

Subscribe, share this episode with someone who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

https://linktr.ee/hollyporter

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

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A beautiful website is not enough if your brand does not feel safe to be seen. In this powerful episode, Julie Fairhurst sits down with author and personal brand strategist Chanoa Inez to talk about inside-out personal branding, self-trust, visibility, grief, reinvention, and building a brand that feels deeply aligned.

Chanoa shares why the most magnetic personal brands are not built from copying trends, chasing validation, or trying to look perfect online. Instead, they begin with inner work, clarity, purpose, values, boundaries, and the courage to show up as yourself. Together, Julie and Chanoa explore the mindset traps that hold women entrepreneurs back, including fear of judgment, comparison, and the pressure to follow what everyone else is doing.

Chanoa also opens up about the devastating loss of her boyfriend shortly after moving to Europe and how grief shaped her identity, her body, her healing, and her path to reinvention. She shares insights from her book, Dream On: How to Create the New Life After Upheaval or Loss, offering hope to women learning to dream again after life changes everything.

This episode is for women entrepreneurs, coaches, authors, speakers, and business owners who want to build a personal brand that feels honest, sustainable, and true.

Reach out to learn more and grab her book:  https://www.chanoainez.com/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

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A grandmother shows up in a vivid 2 a.m. dream with one urgent message: write our real family history before it disappears.

That dream becomes the spark that sends Brigid Kennedy, a professional violinist, violin teacher, and longtime “behind the scenes” supporter of her husband’s academic career, into a completely new identity as a published author and storyteller.

In this episode of the Women Like Me Stories & Business Podcast, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Brigid Kennedy to talk about family history, ancestral stories, spiritual guidance, writing, courage, and the calling to preserve the stories that could vanish if no one writes them down.

Brigid shares how she began with the practical steps of genealogy research — names, dates, places, and the familiar chaos of unlabeled family photos — before her family narrative hit a hard stop. Her research led to the extraordinary story of her great-grandfather’s journey from Ireland to Peru, a monastery wedding in 1910, and his later disappearance into the Amazon rainforest.

With the historical record incomplete, Brigid made a brave, creative decision: she wrote into the gap.

By weaving Irish myths and Incan legends into the missing pieces of her family story, Brigid created something more than fiction. Her book became a reclamation of roots, a way to restore connection, and a form of healing for a family that had carried unanswered questions for generations.

Julie and Brigid also talk about the real work behind writing a book when you do not have a writing degree, an agent, or a roadmap. They explore handling critique, fighting imposter syndrome, carving out time while juggling motherhood and work, and navigating the visibility of becoming an author in the age of TikTok and Instagram.

This conversation is for anyone who has been searching for motivation to preserve family history, start a memoir, write a novel, or finally begin the story that keeps tugging at their heart.

Sometimes the story chooses you before you feel ready to choose it.

If this episode speaks to you, subscribe, share it with a friend who has “one day” plans, and leave a review so more listeners can find Women Like Me Stories & Business.

What family story do you want to save before it is gone?

Learn more about Brigid Kennedy:

Website:  https://www.brigidkennedybooks.com/

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@BrigidKennedyBooks

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/BrigidKennedyBooks/

TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@brigidkennedybooks

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

Are you a first-time writer who wants to write your personal story but doesn’t know where to begin? In this short video, Julie Fairhurst shares three simple writing tips to help beginners start their true-life story with more clarity and confidence.

You’ll learn how to create a timeline of important life events, look at your story as an observer instead of reliving every painful moment, and let go of perfectionism so you can finally get your words onto the page.

Your first draft does not need to be perfect. It simply needs to begin.

Visit juliefairhurst.com for writing resources, personal story support, and tools to help you start sharing the story that is calling you.

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

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Change can flatten you even when you are “good at change.”

One day, you are steady in your routines, and the next, you are facing a layoff, burnout, loss, a career pivot, or a life transition you did not ask for. Then the question hits hard: now what?

In this episode of the Women Like Me Stories & Business Podcast, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Janine Lequay, Change Strategist, Coach, and Author, to talk about why so many people feel scattered, overwhelmed, and disconnected during major transitions — and why that feeling is often a missing process, not a personal flaw.

Janine brings 15 years of organizational change management experience into real life, where the stakes are personal, and the tools are rarely taught. Julie and Janine explore why our brains cling to comfort, why discomfort is a normal biological response to change, and how isolation can make transition feel even heavier.

Janine also shares her powerful GPS metaphor for personal change: you cannot get where you are going if you do not first name where you are starting from. From there, the conversation moves into overwhelm versus failure, burnout signs such as autopilot and avoidance, and the relief that comes from internal alignment instead of chasing everyone else’s expectations.

You will also hear Janine explain her DO IT Change Method in simple, practical language: Discover, Own, Implement, Transform. This framework helps people navigate career pivots, identity shifts, burnout recovery, personal reinvention, and life transitions by taking small steps that build momentum.

This conversation is a reminder that change is not always linear, and feeling overwhelmed does not mean you are failing. Sometimes you simply need a clearer map, a steadier process, and the courage to take the next honest step.

Julie and Janine also discuss community support, why your career is not your identity, and Janine’s vision for teaching kids how to navigate change with intention.

If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend in transition, and leave a review so more people can find tools for change management, burnout recovery, reinvention, and personal growth.

What change are you standing on the edge of right now?

Learn more about Janine Lequay:

Soleil Edge: https://soleiledge.com/

www.doitchangemethod.com 

www.mychangearchetype.com

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

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Midlife can feel like the moment the old rules stop working. The commute feels harder, confidence gets shakier, technology has moved on, and you may be carrying more than anyone can see.

In this powerful episode of the Women Like Me Stories & Business Podcast, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Joy Foster, founder of Tech Pixies, to talk about midlife reinvention, confidence, neurocoaching, business, technology, and the courage to begin again.

Joy works with women who want to reinvent themselves online and in business. She explains what is really happening beneath the surface when women freeze, procrastinate, overthink, or talk themselves out of the very thing they want. Julie and Joy explore imposter syndrome, perfectionism, automatic negative thoughts, and the inner resistance that often appears right before a woman posts, pitches, leads, sells, or steps into visibility.

This conversation also reframes time in a powerful way. Joy shares the 25-year plan mindset, why thinking in quarters can reduce overwhelm, and how focusing on the “big three” priorities helps women move forward with more clarity. They also discuss the importance of creating a power hour that truly belongs to you — not laundry, errands, or everyone else’s needs dressed up as productivity.

Julie and Joy talk about women’s strengths in business, including empathy, emotional intelligence, organization, communication, and relationship-building, and why these qualities become powerful business advantages when women stop undervaluing them.

The conversation also gets practical. Joy shares insight into funding, grants, sales, and why selling is serving when it is aligned with your values. They discuss why sales skills keep a business alive, why belief in what you offer matters, and how women can build confidence around asking for the sale.

Julie and Joy also explore AI for business, AEO, and the bias that can show up inside technology tools. Joy shares why women need to choose technology with their eyes open and use it as support, not as something that steals their voice.

If you are a woman in midlife ready to rebuild confidence, learn new skills, plan smarter, use technology with courage, and create a next chapter that fits who you are now, this episode is for you.

Subscribe, share this episode with a woman who needs a reset, and leave a review with the one idea you are taking into your week.

Learn more about Joy Foster and Tech Pixies:

Website:  https://techpixies.com

Joy Foster LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/techpixiejoy/ 

TechPixies Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/techpixies/ 

TechPixies Facebook - https://facebook.com/techpixies

TechPixies YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/techpixies 

TechPixies TikTok - http://tiktok.com/@techpixies 

TechPixies LinkedIn page - https://www.linkedin.com/school/tech

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

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 “Ethical beauty begins with consent, care, and the courage to see the whole person.” — Rachel Leoni 

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Rachel Leoni, founder of Vita Felice Medispa in New Westminster, British Columbia, for a powerful conversation about ethical esthetics, trauma-informed skincare, scar work, client safety, and building a beauty business rooted in healing instead of trends.

Rachel shares the heart behind Vita Nova, her program offering complimentary specialized treatments for survivors of third-degree burns, violence, and human trafficking. Together, Julie and Rachel explore how scar work may help improve mobility, support confidence, and help people feel safer in their own bodies again.

This conversation goes deeper than beauty. Rachel explains why trauma-informed care must begin with consultation, consent, emotional readiness, and respect for each person’s story. She also speaks honestly about the limits of what one provider can do alone and her hope to expand Vita Nova with like-minded professionals, including mental health support.

Julie and Rachel also discuss ethics in the beauty industry, including Rachel’s fight to prevent the term “vagacial” from being trademarked and controlled by a single company. They talk about client safety, TikTok beauty trends, microneedling, chemical peels, sugaring, and why stronger treatments are not always better.

Rachel also breaks down why sugaring can leave such a noticeable glow and how proper technique can make the difference between short-term maintenance and longer-lasting results.

If you care about ethical beauty, trauma-informed esthetics, skincare, scar healing, or building a profitable beauty business that truly helps people, this episode is for you.

Subscribe, share this conversation with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find it.

Reach out to Rachel:

 Vita Felice Medi Spa https://vitafelice.ca 

www.instagram.com/vitafelicemedispa/

 www.facebook.com/vitafelicemedispa/ 

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

 “Money is not just a math problem. It is often a safety, identity, and self-worth pattern.” — Alma Tarelli 

Your money habits might look like budgeting problems on the surface, but what if they are really identity and safety problems underneath?

In this episode, Julie Fairhurst speaks with Alma Tarelli, a highly effective results mentor, accountant, and financial behavior strategist, about why so many smart, capable, hardworking women still under-earn, overgive, undercharge, and burn out.

Alma explains the difference between external money drivers, like income, bills, debt, pricing, and investments, and internal money drivers, such as childhood patterns, nervous system responses, subconscious beliefs, scarcity, shame, guilt, and fear.

Julie and Alma talk about the survival-mode loops that keep women entrepreneurs stuck: worthiness wounds that fuel perfectionism, fear of visibility, avoidance, scarcity thinking, control, and the belief that doing everything alone is safer than asking for help.

They also explore what it means to be “high income but broke,” why financial strategy alone does not work when your nervous system cannot hold the change, and how small money behaviors can reveal deeper beliefs about wealth, safety, and self-worth.

Then the conversation turns practical. Alma shares ways to slow down your inner noise, release shame and judgment, use journaling, and ask the “why behind the why” to uncover what is really driving your money choices.

This episode is for women who are ready to stop treating money as only a math problem and start building a healthier, steadier relationship with abundance, receiving, charging, investing, and leading.

REACH OUT TO ALMA:  

 Website: www.almatarelli.com

Instagram: Instagram – @abundance_with_alma 

LinkedIn: LinkedIn – Alma Tarelli 

Activate Abundance Book a 15-minute Complimentary Call with Alma 

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

A single childhood moment can echo for decades, especially when it is tied to belonging.

In this episode, Julie Fairhurst speaks with marketing strategist and Elevate Creative founder Elle Jimeno about adoption, bullying, shame, self-trust, boundaries, and the courage it takes to become visible in business.

Elle shares the story of learning she was adopted through playground taunts, and how her mother’s calm response, “Okay, so what?” helped remove the shame from a label others tried to use against her. From there, Julie and Elle talk about family doubt, the wounds that teach women to stay quiet, and the deep inner work required to build confidence.

They also explore the body side of entrepreneurship: freezing at networking events, feeling small again, learning to trust your gut, and discovering the power of supportive women’s communities.

The conversation then turns to practical marketing and branding. Elle shares why authenticity is the only sustainable way to stand out online, why your website should be the foundation of your marketing, and how to “date your brand” again when your business has evolved but your online presence has not caught up.

This episode is for the woman rebuilding her confidence, refining her message, and learning to show up online with more clarity, truth, and courage.

REACH OUT TO ELLE:  

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/ellevatemybiz

Website:  https://ellevatemybiz.com/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

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Scroll down to get your free gift!

She was pregnant at 14, pushed out of school, and raised three kids as a single mom for 28 years. Julie Fairhurst’s life could have stayed locked inside that story, especially after years surrounded by abuse, addiction, and chaos, where survival mattered more than possibility. Instead, she made a decision that changes everything: the past can be true without being in charge.

We talk through the moment she left a government job at 29 because she wanted more, then walked straight into the hard reality of starting over. Julie shares what those early months in real estate actually looked like: tears, fear, embarrassment, standing in food bank lines, relying on a toy bank at Christmas, and eventually filing bankruptcy. The heart of her message is not hustle or hype. It’s a grounded mindset shift about stopping the wait for someone to rescue you, refusing to let fear make your decisions, and staying focused even when you have no proof it will work yet.

That persistence builds into a 36-year real estate career, selling 80 to 110 homes a year and leading a team, but she’s clear about what “success” really means: becoming the woman who no longer believes her past has the final say. Now retired from real estate, Julie pours her energy into Women Like Me, coaching women, publishing true-life stories, and helping others heal through their stories so they can move forward with courage and clarity.

If you’ve felt stuck, ashamed, behind, or “too broken,” press play and take one brave step with us. 

Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review with the label you’re ready to drop. 

FREE GIFT:  https://womenlikeme.aflip.in/40fb14472d.html

Start Your Story Workbook is a gentle, beginner-friendly guide created to help women take the first brave step in writing their personal story. Through simple prompts, thoughtful reflection, and encouraging guidance, this workbook helps you move past fear, find your starting point, and begin putting your truth on the page with confidence.

Your story does not need to be perfect. It only needs to begin.

Ladies, join Women Like Me:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/879482909307802

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/juliefairhurstinfluence/?hl=en

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/juliefairhurstcoaching

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliefairhurstvoicestoryinfluence/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

You can remember what happened without letting it run your life.

In this short but powerful reflection, Julie Fairhurst shares a healing message about identity, emotional freedom, and what it really means to say: " You are not your story. If your mind keeps replaying old memories like a verdict, this message will help you pause, breathe, and begin to question the painful beliefs that have been holding you for too long.

https://juliefairhurst.com/

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website

She opened her doors, got her license, and then lockdown hit. One month later, the salon dream was gone — and so was the home it lived in.

That kind of loss can shrink your world fast, but Calli Jensen chose a different path. Instead of giving up, she used that painful season as the spark to rethink how beauty, wellness, and service-based businesses grow when ads stop working, customers disappear, and real connection becomes everything.

In this episode of Women Like Me Stories & Business, Calli shares the real timeline of rebuilding — from a simple “refer three friends” stamp card to creating Our Beauty Referral Network, a referral marketing platform built on trust, tracked referrals, collaboration, and community.

We talk about why relying on a single location or income stream can be risky, especially for small business owners, and how a pay-it-forward referral model can help customers earn toward their self-care while helping businesses keep their calendars full.

Calli also opens up about her spinal injury, her healing journey, and what it truly means to stop “pushing through” and become your own health advocate. Her story is a powerful reminder that resilience is not always about going harder — sometimes it is about slowing down, listening, healing, and building differently.

We also explore what makes Our Beauty Referral Network more than a directory, including live events, online speed-networking, video testimonials, referral tracking, tools to fill open appointment slots, and content automation designed to increase visibility and bookings.

If you are a beauty, wellness, or service-based business owner who feels invisible online — or a customer looking for trusted providers without the guesswork — this conversation will give you a clearer, more human way to grow.

Subscribe, share this episode with a friend or business owner who needs momentum, and leave a review with the biggest takeaway you’re taking from Calli’s story.

REACH OUT TO CALLI!  Our Beauty & Wellness Referral Network & Community. 

www.beautyreferralnetwork.com

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/beautyreferral

If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.

Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.

I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.

Go to my website if you would like to be a guest on the Women Like Me Stories & Business in the toolbar click Let's Podcast

Julie's Website