Offline, The Podcast: Honest Conversations About True Self & Success

Dearest you.Imagine a professional reality that is entirely unsubscribed from hustle culture, comparison and the relentless pursuit of a definition of success that no longer feels true for you. Imagine waking up every single day feeling like you’re living a life you’ve chosen, and that the shape of your day is weighted evenly between meeting your own needs, the needs of the people you love and the needs of the business you work for or the one you own. And that on some days, there’s no need at all. There’s just rest. Play. Pleasure.This can be real and I know this to be true because I am living this professional reality. I’ve gone from hustling and grinding to a level of grounded that makes me walk and talk slow. From pushing my career in a particular direction to simply letting it unfold. From over-analysing my next move to trusting that what's meant for me won't miss me. From feeling like I was compromising my values to now leading a thriving business that is built on my values.The moment I realised what I was doing for a living was no longer a fit with how I wanted to be living and what I wanted my life to represent, I knew I had to be an agent of change. I knew I had to define my own highest vision and move in the direction of it despite what other people might think.What is your highest vision and will you let me help you realise it?Alison xoOff— enrolment page: www.getoffline.co/off Email me directly with any questions: support@getoffline.co Listening after July 2023? Register your interest: https://www.getoffline.co/off-expressions-of-interest  I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which I live and create today, the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation. I pay my respects to their Elders past and present and I extend that respect to any First Nations, Torres Strait Islander and Māori peoples listening.

Dearest you. When Maeva Heim and I first sat down for an honest conversation in 2019, her texture-inclusive haircare brand, Bread, was still an idea yet to be realised. She was halfway through Seophora’s Accelerate program and four years later, we’re having a very different conversation.Maeva went on to secure investment and launch Bread (during the pandemic no less) and is now stocked exclusively in Sephora in Australia and multiple beauty retailers in  the US including Ulta and Cult Beauty. She shares so many rich insights and learnings from her journey in this episode. Some highlights include:Why she believes it is actually about who you know not what you knowWhat she did to build her network from knowing no-one in the industry to meeting the haircare buyer at Sephora in the StatesWhat investors are looking for in pre-launch businessesHer take on the role our work should play in our livesWhy not everyone is built to work in a start-upStepping up as a leader and CEOWhy operating in 2022 was harder than operating in the pandemic Her observations on the VC space right now We had a lot of fun the second time around. Hope we offer you a lot of insight and also some giggles. Alison xoShop Bread Follow Maeva on InstagramThe site I referenced is www.brandingstyleguides.com—It would be an honour to help you on your way.Stay close and supported by signing up to my email list. It’s the first place I share new offerings and invitations to work with me. Visit www.getoffline.co. I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which I live and create today, the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation. I pay my respects to their Elders past and present and I extend that respect to any First Nations, Torres Strait Islander and Māori peoples listening.

Dearest you. If you’re an entrepreneur or business leader, you’ll know how many business mentors, coaches and courses are out there selling you success. It’s noisy and a lot of the advice is conflicting.This episode is an opportunity for us to lean out of all of that noise and learn from an elder in conscious and ethical business. Jeannie Bourke has been running her beauty and body lab Venustus through the lens of her ethics, her morals and her values for over 30 years. It has been a heart-first business with a deep and intentional why long before people were writing entire books about it and calling it a strategy. There’s so much goodness in this one:How to attract, train and retain a 10-year teamHow she’s taken the wisdom, tools and techniques she’s learnt over 40 years and literally infused them into the walls and floors of her new space (which opens this month!)How she uses her body as a compass in businessThe benefits of conscious business owners getting comfortable with money and earning itWhy not everything needs to scale and how this can actually become a barrier to our long-term impactUnpacking the concept of failure when our ideas are channeled — did we fail or were we early?Thank you for being here.Alison xoExplore Venustus —It would be an honour to help you on your way.Stay close and supported by signing up to my email list. It’s the first place I share new offerings and invitations to work with me. Visit www.getoffline.co. I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which I live and create today, the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation. I pay my respects to their Elders past and present and I extend that respect to any First Nations, Torres Strait Islander and Māori peoples listening.

Dearest you. The first time I sat down with doctor, rocket scientist, author and zero waste life advocate, Dr. Anita Vandyke, she was looking ahead to a bright and exciting future with her husband James and daughter Vivian. She was close to graduating from medical school and had just written her second book, The Zero Waste Family. But just two years on, things look quite different. Today, Anita’s list of titles includes widow. Devastatingly, she lost her husband James to cancer in late 2022. He was just 40 years old. If you’re a regular listener of this sweet and stable podcast, you’ll know that some of my most connected episodes are the ones birthed during or after a significant life experience. At the time of recording and releasing this episode, that life experience is the passing of my beautiful mum and the grief that has followed. This honest conversation is dedicated to James and to my mum. It’s also dedicated to every person who can no longer smell, touch and hear someone they love. It’s for anyone who wants to learn how to be someone to the person left behind. What to say. What to do. How to be there and catch them in the oceanic swell that is loss.Thank you Anita for allowing the deep well of grief you hold for James to spill over so we can hear it and feel it and hopefully, help you carry it. Alison xoP.S. I am sorry about the interference… we recorded in person at Anita’s home and I think our pesky mobile phones tried to get involved.Follow Dr. Anita Vandyke on Instagram— Are you feeling the pull to make contact with your True Self and define your highest vision for your career or business? My invitation to you is to move beyond curiosity and into intentional action. Visit www.getoffline.co and consider signing up to my mailing list to receive conscious career love notes, invitations to learn with me, and more. I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which I live and create today, the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to any First Nations, Torres Strait Islander and Māori peoples listening.

Dearest you. This episode is a bit of a full circle moment for me. Caitlin and Anna interviewed me back in 2018 for what was then a soon-to-launch podcast but is now the very well established Lady Brains. I was still working in publishing and I had begun recording for Offline but it was still my little secret so to be sitting here five years later having an honest conversation about the texture and terrain we’ve all moved through as podcasters and founders is a real honour. Like, we did it! We're still here!We had what I think is a really uncommon and kind of complex conversation about being a founder while also helping other founders. While we serve very differently, we share many of the same challenges and experiences.I am proud of this conversation because it feels like the antidote to polish and shine of typical founder interviews. We don’t talk in grabs and we take time to think about what we want to say. There’s lot of purposeful pauses. Maybe it is just me, but this feels very compelling and encouraging as we come out of the era that hurt more of us than it helped — Girl Boss and the grind culture that came with it. We hope you love out very honest conversation and that it allows you a moment to lean out and make contact with something real and unscripted. Thank you for being here.Alison xoListen to Lady Brains Follow Lady Brains— Are you feeling the pull to make contact with your True Self and define your highest vision for your career? My invitation to you is to move beyond curiosity and into intentional action. Visit www.getoffline.co and consider signing up to my mailing list to receive conscious career love notes, invitations to learn with me, and more. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are our land’s first storytellers. I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which I live and create today, the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to any First Nations and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening.

Dearest you. A gentle warning upfront. This episode covers difficult topics like pregnancy loss, infertility and navigating the death of a parent while becoming a parent.  I never expect the stories and experiences my guests hold closest to their hearts but I am always grateful when they gift them to us. This episode is no exception — Leigh and I really go there on some pieces and while an emotional listen at times, I know we both believe so necessary to bring the context and complexity to lives that otherwise look perfect and pain-free from the outside. We hope you love our chat and know you’ll hold us in our shares. Some are sweet, some are silly, some are brave, some act as an example of our privilege and some are so raw they make us want to take it back. Alison xoThe 3 Step Breast CheckFollow Leigh on InstagramShop Leigh’s business baby, Brillo Beauty— Are you feeling the pull to make contact with your True Self and define your highest vision for your career or business? My invitation to you is to move beyond curiosity and into intentional action. Visit www.getoffline.co and consider signing up to my mailing list to receive conscious career love notes, invitations to learn with me, and more. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are our land’s first storytellers. I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which I live and create today, the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and pay my respects to their Elders past, and present. I extend that respect to any First Nations and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening.