Akua: Hey friends, it’s Akua, and today’s episode is a bittersweet one. It is actually our very last episode of the Unbreakable Business Podcast. Now, before we dive in, I just wanna take a moment to say thank you. Thank you to the incredible team who, alongside me, showed up every single week to put out the best episodes.

Thank you to our incredible audience for tuning in, for sharing episodes with Friends, for DMing Me, your takeaways and just overall being part of this incredible, incredible community. Over the past few years, we’ve had the privilege of sitting down with some of the most inspiring business owners, creators, and leaders who’ve reminded us that being unbreakable isn’t about being perfect.

It is about staying grounded in who you are, even when business gets hard. So let’s celebrate everything we have built together. And so today’s episode, we are highlighting some of our best moments from the show that moved us, that challenged us, and changed the way that we think about entrepreneurship.

So you are gonna hear from some of my favorite guests, and I will be sharing a few reflections along the way. So without further ado, for the last time. Let’s get into it. Welcome to Unbreakable Business, the podcast where we uncover the untold stories behind entrepreneurship. This isn’t about polished success stories.

It’s about the sleepless nights unexpected roblox and unshakeable grit that builds businesses that last. Every week we sit down with entrepreneurs who faced it all, sharing raw, honest conversations about challenges, growth, and the moments that made them unbreakable. Whether you’re just starting out or chasing your next breakthrough.

This podcast is your reminder that you have the strength to keep going. So the way that we’ve, we’ve chosen these clips is through the journey of entrepreneurship. So we are gonna start with the heart of it all the inner work. That keeps every entrepreneur going. Throughout the show, we’ve talked a lot about how success isn’t a formula.

It’s more so a feeling, and one clip that we’re highlighting, Haley Page reminded us that sometimes the most powerful pivot we can make isn’t in our business plan, but in how we define success for ourselves.

Hayley Paige: When I was in my legal dispute, I would have saying to myself. When the lawsuit is over, I will do this right?

Or when this happens, I will do this. And the problem with that kind of math is that you are depending on a certain outcome to happen that you might not even have control over. To depict, you know, your destiny. It’s almost like letting the circumstances be in the driver’s seat. And what I really wanted to focus on was, okay, what outcome would I like to see happen and how can I get to that outcome?

And even if that’s not the outcome, how can it just be a direction? That is really productive as opposed to, you know, what is the speed of that direction or, you know, it’s, it’s more about figuring out what you can do in the here and now with what you have. And I don’t know, I. I like to think about, you know, the story arc of things and that like what you’re doing in this moment is gonna be a lot different than what you’re doing when a circumstance changes later.

Right. And your story is even gonna evolve. ’cause while the. The bulk of the story is still there. Your relationship to the story is going to change because you’re gonna, you’re gonna evolve yourself, right? And so like now when I tell my story, it’s the same story, but I actually tell it in a much different light because of what has happened.

And that is all the while important to catch people at different stages of life when they’re telling their story. Because like. The, the entrepreneur that is hustle and grinding every single day in and out is going to tell a different story of what they need to do in that moment than when they’re on the other side of some massive success, right?

Mm-hmm. And so it’s just, it’s important to think about that in terms of like the craft in being human and why we give each other grace. In the areas we’re at in life.

Akua: Once you define what success looks like for you, the next challenge is learning to trust the process even when growth feels slow. Justin Shields gives us a such a grounded reminder about what it means to grow with intention.

Justin Shiels: There are seasons where we’re gonna sow seeds, right? There’s a season where you’re gonna do all of this work, uh, to plant your garden. Then there will be a season where you reap all of the rewards of the things that you have planted. But I don’t think we talk enough about the time in between those two points.

There is a waiting period that all of us go through to achieve the things that, um, we desire. And navigating that waiting period with grace is one of the biggest challenges that we all will face. I’m not gonna pretend like that’s not the case. It is challenging. But our job in that season is not to dig up the seeds that we have already planted.

It’s to wait and let those seeds do what they want to do. And that is grow, right? So much of it is focusing on the things that you can do now, uh, to keep your life moving in the way that you want it to move. And so that’s like, I, I would reframe like all of goal setting, right? To be. Not, I want to make X number of dollars a year, I would actually change it and focus it on things that you personally can control.

So it’s like, instead of saying I want, um, 10 new clients before the end of, uh, Q2, you might say, I’m gonna reach out to 10 people every day for the next 30 days until I get new clients. By reframing the goal in that way, you focus it on action items that you can control. And by doing the things that you can control, you get out of those negative thought loops that bring us down, that stop us from doing the work that we’re supposed to do.

And so I think one of the key things that pops up for me when you’re sitting in that waiting period, kind of waiting for those seats to grow, is to really focus on, uh, positive intention and reframing your personal mindset.

Akua: Then there’s our relationship with money, one of the most complex parts of entrepreneurship.

Denise Duffield Thomas helps us reframe abundance as something that begins with us.

Denise: I think so many of us, we don’t know how to talk about money. Um, we are fearful of money. We think it’s not for us, and I think. There’s always little experiences that all of us have that really do shape our relationship with money as adults.

Not only how our parents and our family members talked about money, but there could be other things too. Like I was very bad at math. I have Dyscalculia, which I only found out as an adult, and so I associated me being bad with math. To me being bad with money. As well. Right? And so I spent most of my twenties especially, um, I got into a ton of debt because I didn’t know how to deal with debt.

I had a lot of money. Shame. I didn’t wanna open my credit card statements, I didn’t wanna look at, at those things. However, I had. A really good work ethic because that was drummed into me. So I always had four or five jobs, you know, and I was always kind of in that hustle mentality. But I think what was underpinning my money blocks, which is still the same today, which is what I wanna talk about, where those money blocks will chase you, is that I want people to like me.

Mm-hmm. I wanna be the good girl. I wanna be helpful. And so I, when I started my business, I fell into the same patterns that I see a lot of women fall into undercharging, overdelivering, not wanting to have conversations with my clients about money, feeling really awkward about setting my prices, increasing prices, chasing up invoices.

All of those things I see are so common, especially in women. And they’re things that I struggled with as well. And even though now I’ve made. Multimillions of dollars in my business, I still want people to like me and I still have to work on that conditioning that I have. So I think even though at, even though at an early age I knew, I knew I wanted to make money, it was still really tricky for me to be able to have those conversations about money and to unlearn some of those things.

And I think. My only job really as a mentor, I don’t call myself a money expert. I’m not a financial advisor. I’m not an accountant. I want to be able to normalize these conversations about money so that we can realize that we we’re allowed to talk about money, just like we are allowed to talk about anything.

And I think so many of us, especially women, we’re so open with our friends, we’re so happy to talk about anything in our lives, but money still feels like it’s a bit of a taboo.

Akua: These conversations remind me that being unbreakable starts long before the revenue. It starts with the self-trust, and I think that’s one of the biggest things that I’ve learned about entrepreneurship is you can have all the strategies in the world, but if you do not trust yourself, if you are not working on your mindset, if you are not honoring and having more patience in your business.

Then no amount of strategy is gonna help you move forward. And so hearing from Hailey and Denise and Justin were just such powerful reminders of that. Something that kept coming up this season was the idea that success doesn’t have to mean more, more work, more stress, more hustle. Stu McLaren said it best when he talked about the power of doing less better.

Stu McLaren: This is one of those moments like, we’ve gotta change, we’ve gotta adapt. And if you don’t, then what happens is you start to see the results of the business decrease over time. And so I would say one of the biggest things, uh, Akua in, in surviving, you know, for so long and thriving mm-hmm. Is just recognizing these moments.

When change is needed and then having the courage to like try and experiment with some new things to be able to discover what that next level is going to be. And I just think a lot of business owners, they get stuck in one way of doing things and they put the blinders on and they’re just not. Taking into consideration changes that are happening in the marketplace.

Akua: Les Alfred built her business on the same belief that focus and joy are the real drivers of growth.

Les Alfred: I’d had a small community at that point. Yeah. But it wasn’t gonna be devastating if it went away. And so yeah, a lot of it was just my own stubbornness of being like, this is not working, this is not serving you, or really anybody else.

And it’s just time to take a pause. But I do think sometimes it is harder to walk away when something is working or when it is your livelihood or you know, and I think everybody has to kind of figure out what that looks like for themselves because we are the only ones living in our bodies. We are the only ones who know how it feels when we’re doing soul crushing work or when something is out of alignment.

And I think sometimes we get so caught up in wanting all of this advice from other people. But you’re the only one living that experience. And maybe you can hear stories of other people, but ultimately you are the one running your business. You are the one with your responsibilities and your finances.

You are the only one living your life. So how do you want your life to feel? It doesn’t matter how I felt or what I did like. What do you, what do you want? What feels good to you? What doesn’t feel good to you? And learning how to check in with ourselves about that is really, really important.

Akua: And no one embodies intentional entrepreneurship quite like Shea Cochran.

Her story reminded us that boundaries aren’t limitations, their strategies for freedom. Listen,

Shay Cochran: you get to decide what this looks like. You get to decide what entrepreneurship looks like for you. And, uh, unfortunately, no one is coming to help you. Like no one is coming to sort this out for you. Like if you are exhausted and overworked and it’s not working and it’s not generate revenue, and marriage is suffering, and friendships are suffering, no one’s coming to save you.

Like, that’s the bad news. The good news is you get to decide what this looks like. So if you only wanna work. Five hours a week. Then if you can open your mind to say, not. Oh, I could never do that. I could never make six figures in five hours a week. Or maybe you don’t need to make six figures. Maybe you’d just be happy with two grand a month, two grand a month is not laughable.

That’s a substantial life change for most of us. If you can, you get to, instead of saying, there’s no way I could do that, no one else does it like this. If you can get your brain to the place where you’re saying, you know, how could I do that? How could I make. $2,000 a month in five hours. Well, I could do this, I could offer this, I could try this.

And maybe it’s within the business you have and maybe it’s not. But the point is the open-mindedness and the willing, the mind shift of saying, how could I do that? All right, if you only wanna work 20 hours a week and you want Fridays off and you never wanna have to work on the weekends, and you wanna give yourself a month off a year.

Being creative enough to say or open enough to say, how could I do that? What would I do if I, if that was how, what I wanted life to look like? And then you force your brain to get creative and to problem solve in that way. But you get to decide what it looks like for you as an entrepreneur.

Akua: When I think about every guest we’ve had, it’s clear that the most successful business owners aren’t chasing balance.

They are designing it. And that is something that I think is so powerful for us to remember, is that we get to define what success really looks like in our business. So at the end of the day, it’s all about creating a business that is aligned with who you are and your values. And creating from a place of joy.

It’s really easy for us to get caught up in revenue. And you know, of course making money is great, but how you make the money is what truly matters. And that’s something that all of these guests have showed and these clips that we pulled out, I hope, is a reminder for you to keep building a business that aligns with you and brings you joy and honors you in every step of the way.

And of course, no conversation about business would be complete without talking about the people behind it. Danielle Bayer Jackson reminded us that community isn’t something you feel, it’s something you build.

Danielle: From what I’ve observed and experienced at the heart of the matter, the. The issues are the same.

A fear of rejection, wanting to find people who get you wanting to express your love platonically without being seen as, as too much or too clingy. Wanting to make friends who reflect back to you where you are in this season. I mean, at the heart of it, no matter what your age is, those things are the same, and so the details are different, but I think we’re all looking for the same things.

Akua: That message carries straight into she McMahon’s perspective that small businesses aren’t just economic engines, they’re culture shapers.

Sharon: As a small business owner, health insurance is a really, really important component. When you’re researching candidates, it can’t just be, does this. Does this candidate want low taxes?

They also need to advocate for quality of life issues that impact small businesses like health insurance. Like, can I afford to send my kids to the to daycare so that I can actually do my job? There’s a variety of, um, quality of life issues that that directly impacts small businesses. People need to be looking at the big picture and not just what is, do they want 22% or 21% or 25%?

Like there’s way more to it than just a percentage of tax rate on profits.

Akua: Yes.

Sharon: Um, if you have a 22% tax rate on profits instead of 21%, but you still can’t buy health insurance, well that’s, that’s not actually benefiting you. Mm-hmm. So anyway, you, you, you totally understand my point, that there’s a lot of, this is a very multifaceted issue and there needs to be better advocates in government for small businesses because small businesses drive this economy.

And not

Akua: only that, Terry Rice took it one step further reminding us that integrity is your most powerful marketing tool.

Terry Rice: If you’ve been through these painful moments, like that might be a way that you’re making a connection with somebody. Maybe that is your unique differentiator, right? You’re gonna say, look, you’ve been through all this stuff and you’re still alive, you’re still walking, you’re still breathing.

Hell, that alone makes you extraordinary, right? So therefore, when you’re competing with all these other people that are doing the exact thing, same thing as you, your personality and your experience become unique, differentiator. And as a result of that, you’ll get rewarded forward for it. And I’m not saying to do so like in a way that’s like, you know, exploiting anything, but it might be holding you back.

Because you’ve been through some pain, but if you can actually come bring that forward a bit more, it’ll help you if you feel comfortable. I mean, some things like, you know, you don’t have to tell the full story, obviously, but you deserve that recognition for just surviving this stuff at times.

Akua: And finally, Jamie Brindle brought it all the way home with this truth.

Success is about showing up with integrity even when no one’s watching.

Jamie Brindle: We are all intelligent beings and we, you know, we want to be building something and we’re always optimizing. And I think that that is a common mm-hmm. Trap is you get in your head and you’re like, oh, I don’t know, like mm-hmm. You know, and there’s a lot of overthinking that goes on, and I’ve just found that it’s not, I think therefore I am, it’s, I am.

Therefore, I think

Sharon: mm-hmm.

Jamie Brindle: Thoughts will follow your behavior. Yes. Not the other way around. Mm-hmm. So if you, if you want something to happen differently. Do it and your mind will catch up. Yes. So start behaving like the person that does the thing that you want to do, and the thoughts that are saying, hang on, hold on a second.

Like, eventually they’re gonna be like, oh, we just don’t give a shit. Cool. This is what we’re doing now. Mm-hmm. You know, because it’s like you, your thoughts are there to serve you.

Akua: Yeah. And,

Jamie Brindle: and whether it feels like it or not, right? Like they, because sometimes they’re, they’re tyrannical, but that’s because you’ve allowed them, you’ve said.

It by, by reinforcing, you’ve said, yes, I am interested in these thoughts. You know? Yes. And so if you just start behaving, like that’s not something that you want to entertain, it’ll catch up pretty quickly.

Akua: Ooh, those clips are just so powerful because I think a lot of the times with entrepreneurship is there are no shortcuts.

There are no shortcuts and it’s so easy to get caught up in, you know, hurrying up and trying to make this amount of, of revenue or wanting to look this successful. But what really matters is building. A brand and building a business that truly is rooted in integrity. What are people saying about you when you are not in the room?

How are you honoring the people that you’re serving? Those are the things that matters, right? Like we all. Our business owners for a reason, and it is because we want to be able to make an impact. And I think those last few quotes are just such a powerful reminder of you are incredible at what you do and the impact you are making is unmatched.

And so every single thing that you do in your business lead with intention and lead with integrity because it is going to pay off in the long run. That is such an important key in building. A business that’s here for tomorrow, a business that is sustainable. That’s what the Unbreakable Business Podcast has always been about, building with purpose, heart and honesty.

So I can’t think of a better way to close out the Unbreakable Business Podcast than with these words that success is about showing up with integrity even when no one’s watching that. What this show has always stood for through every interview, every story, every late night recording session, we’ve been building something bigger than business.

We’ve been building belief that you can lead with purpose, build with heart, and create a business that is truly unbreakable to every guest who has shared their story. Thank you to every listener who’s ever pressed play and has sent me dms and messages of words of encouragement, of what you’ve loved about the episode, how it’s truly impacted your life.

Thank you. And to every entrepreneur out there still chasing your version of success, I hope this show has reminded you that you already have everything you need in this season and in this life to build something extraordinary. I’m so proud of what we’ve created together and I can’t wait to see where the next chapter takes us.

Now you may be wondering, Akua, what is next for you and Well, I’m excited to get back to me and my business to get back to. Building my business and what that could look like as a storytelling strategist. And that is truly what entrepreneurship is all about, right? Building a business to create a life that is aligned with who you are.

And I am taking the advice of everything, of all the clips that were shared today, but I will say is that this isn’t the last time that you are going to hear from me. I am so excited to announce that I am relaunching my podcast. Here’s the Tea with a Kua, the show where we make uncomfortable conversations more comfortable.

So here’s the Tea with a Kua has always been a passion of mine and I’m excited to get back to that, to continue creating that space where we can share our stories, where we can share those. Real hard and beautiful moments of life. And so the new season comes out mid-January, so make sure to head to the show notes so you can subscribe and be on the lookout for the first episode in 2026.

But until then, keep showing up, keep leading with courage and keep building your own unbreakable business. And until next time.