Here's What I Learned: Ditching Biz-as-Usual for Values, Freedom, and Doing It Your Way

And That's a Wrap

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1937124/fan_mail/new] Five years. 109 episodes. More conversations than I ever imagined when I hit record for the first time back in 2021. This is the final episode of Here's What I Learned... and honestly, it feels exactly right. This season was built around experiments -- intentional engagement, time tracking, group onboarding, image title SEO, and defining what "enough" actually looks like. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, I started feeling the closing of a chapter. This episode is me honoring that feeling out loud. I'm not disappearing. The work continues. But the podcast as you know it is done, and I wanted to say thank you -- properly -- before I go.   What next? * For updates on how this season's experiments wrapped up, follow my LinkedIn newsletter: Structure-ish [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/structure-ish-7353119882579791872/] * Follow me on Instagram at @jackihayes_obm [https://instagram.com/jackihayes_obm]   Credits: Intro and Outro Music: Atomic by Alex-Productions | OnsoundRoyalty Free Music and Sound Effects discover OnSound [https://onsound.eu/] Music promoted by Free-stock-musicRoyalty-Free Music for YouTube, Social Media & Creators [https://www.free-stock-music.com] Creative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0) CreativecommonsDeed - Attribution 3.0 Unported - Creative Commons [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US]

The Enough Experiment: Deconditioning from Capitalism's "More" Mindset

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1937124/fan_mail/new] What if the answer to burnout isn't doing more... but defining enough? In this episode, I sit down with Becky Mollenkamp—feminist business coach, author, and liberation advocate—for a conversation that challenges everything we've been conditioned to believe about success, productivity, and money. Becky assigns me a 30-day experiment designed to decondition my brain from capitalism's relentless "more, more, more" and help me discover what enough actually looks like. This isn't about deprivation or settling. It's about freedom. Freedom from the straight jacket of hustle culture, from chasing arbitrary revenue goals, and from sacrificing sleep, joy, and creativity in pursuit of someone else's definition of success. If you're a manifesting generator like me (or just someone who constantly feels like you should be doing more), this episode will make you rethink everything. We explore how to define your own enough across money, time, productivity, and values... and why that simple act is one of the most radical things you can do as a business owner.   Topics: * Why capitalism conditions us to believe "enough" means failure or settling * The four-week framework for defining and implementing your enough * How to audit your time and money against your actual values * Why defining enough is harder (and more liberating) than you think * The difference between needs, wants, and what capitalism tells us we want * How Becky's quarterly hotel retreats became part of her enough   You can find Becky Mollenkamp at: Website: beckymollenkamp.com [http://beckymollenkamp.com]   Mentioned in the episode: * Liberate Your Business [http://beckymollenkamp.com/book] by Becky Mollenkamp (releasing late April) * The Enough Experiment details at jackihayes.co/podcasts [http://jackihayes.co/podcasts]   What next? * Follow Here's What I Learned on your favorite podcast player * Leave a review so the podcast is seen by more people like you * Share this episode with a friend who needs permission to do less * Follow me on Instagram at @jackihayes_obm [https://www.instagram.com/jackihayes_obm]   Credits: Intro and Outro Music: Atomic by Alex-Productions | OnsoundRoyalty Free Music and Sound Effects discover OnSound [https://onsound.eu/] Music promoted by Free-stock-musicRoyalty-Free Music for YouTube, Social Media & Creators [https://www.free-stock-music.com] Creative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0) CreativecommonsDeed - Attribution 3.0 Unported - Creative Commons [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US]

Intentional Engagement Experiment: The Halfway Mark

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1937124/fan_mail/new] Six weeks into the 90 day Intentional Engagement Experiment, I have a surprising update: Instagram is the hardest platform for me to consistently have real conversations on right now. Between ads, suggested content, and the “either I only see my favorites or I see Unstable Unicorns ads” problem, it is tougher to stay focused on the people I actually want to build relationships with. In this halfway mark check-in, I share what is working better (hi, LinkedIn and Threads), how I am defining a meaningful conversation for this experiment, and the simple tracking system I built in Airtable to keep the whole thing grounded in reality. Topics: * What “intentional engagement” means in this experiment (and what doesn't count) * Why Instagram has been the most difficult place to engage consistently * Why LinkedIn and Threads have been easier for actual conversation * How seasonality and real life impacted the experiment (and why that still counts) * The Airtable Conversation Tracker system I am using to log interactions and follow ups * The next piece I am building: a weekly rhythm for engagement that does not rely on scrolling   Mentioned in the episode: * Jessica Lackey, Deeper Foundations membership: DeeperfoundationsMembership | Deeper Foundations — Deeper Foundations [https://www.deeperfoundations.com/membership] * The Intentional Engagement Experiment: Tracking Conversations That Grow Your Business [https://www.jackihayes.co/podcast/intentional-engagement-experiment]   What next? * Follow Here's What I Learned on your favorite podcast player * Leave a review so the podcast is seen by more people like you * Share this episode with a friend * Find the complete show notes and transcripts at https://www.jackihayes.online/podcastjackihayes.co [https://www.jackihayes.co/]   Say hi! * Follow me on Instagram at @jackihayes_obm [https://instagram.com/jackihayes_obm]   Credits: Intro and Outro Music: Atomic by Alex-Productions |https://onsound.eu/ [https://onsound.eu/] Music promoted byhttps://www.free-stock-music.com [https://www.free-stock-music.com/] Creative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US]

The Image Title SEO Experiment: A Simple Tweak for Your Website

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1937124/fan_mail/new] How much of your SEO is hiding in plain sight... inside your images? In this episode of Here’s What I Learned, I’m joined by SEO strategist Brittany Herzberg for a real-time experiment: what happens when you stop uploading “IMG4532” and start treating image titles like actual search signals. We get into how Google reads your image file names, what to name them (without turning into a keyword-stuffing goblin), and how to track whether the changes are working using Google Search Console. If you’re a creative service provider who’s sitting on a backlog of blog graphics, portfolio images, or content assets, this is one of those “small change, big ripple” conversations. In this episode, we cover: * Why image titles matter for SEO (and why “IMG_4532” is not helping you) * How one quick rename can get you showing up in Google Image results * A simple way to decide what to name images * Keyword research that does not require a 12-tab spiral * A practical guideline for image naming length, plus why hyphens matter * When to use location keywords (and why consistency matters) * How long to run the experiment and what to track so you actually know if it worked I’m renaming image titles across my site using Brittany’s approach, then tracking results in Google Search Console for 1 to 2 months. I’ll add my baseline notes and updates after the fact.   You can find Brittany at: * Website: brittanyherzberg.com [http://brittanyherzberg.com] * Instagram: @brittany_herzberg [https://www.instagram.com/brittany_herzberg/] * Threads: @brittany_herzberg [https://www.threads.com/@brittany_herzberg] * The Basic B podcast [https://brittanyherzberg.com/the-basic-b-podcast]   Mentioned in the episode: * Google Search Console [https://search.google.com/search-console/about] (and the “Insights” tab) * Ubersuggest [https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/] (free Chrome extension) * Keysearch [https://keysearch.co/?via=copybyb\] (use code KSDISC for 20% off) * The Energetics & Intention Behind Your SEO Strategy [https://brittanyherzberg.com/blog/energetics-of-a-successful-seo-strategy] podcast episode   What next? * Follow Here's What I Learned on your favorite podcast player * Leave a review so the podcast is seen by more people like you * Share this episode with a friend * This podcast is powered by curiosity—and by listeners like you. Support future episodes at ko-fi.com/jackihayes [http://ko-fi.com/jackihayes] * Follow me on Instagram at @jackihayes_obm [https://instagram.com/jackihayes_obm]   Proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective [https://feministpodcasterscollective.com/], a community of indie creators amplifying each other’s work through collaboration and care.   Credits: Intro and Outro Music: Atomic by Alex-Productions |https://onsound.eu/ [https://onsound.eu/] Music promoted byhttps://www.free-stock-music.com [https://www.free-stock-music.com/] Creative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US]

The Time Tracking Experiment: What Your Hourly Rate Really Is

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1937124/fan_mail/new] In this episode, I’m joined by Jayci Trujillo, founder of Happy Girl Marketing, for a very practical experiment that sounds simple and gets uncomfortable fast… tracking time. Jayci is in a growth season. More clients, a growing team, bigger decisions. And like a lot of service business owners, she realized she was making those decisions without really knowing where her time was going or what her actual hourly rate looked like once everything was counted. So we designed an experiment. For at least two weeks, Jayci is tracking every part of her workday. Not just client work, but the context switching, the quick check-ins, the strategy time, the things that quietly eat up hours without showing a clear return. We talk about why most business owners underestimate how much they’re working, how tracking time can surface what is no longer worth your energy, and why this kind of data makes scaling decisions clearer instead of heavier. If you’ve ever felt busy without being sure what’s actually moving the needle, this episode gives you a grounded place to start noticing. Topics covered: * Why tracking time is essential during growth and scaling seasons * What your real hourly rate reveals once everything is counted * How context switching impacts focus and decision-making * Choosing tools that make time tracking realistic, not rigid * How to use time data to decide what to automate, outsource, or let go You can find Jayci Trujillo at: * Website: Happy Girl Marketing Co [https://www.happygirlmarketingco.com/] *  Instagram: InstagramLogin • Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/happygirlmarketingco] What next? * Follow Here's What I Learned on your favorite podcast player * Leave a review so the podcast is seen by more people like you * Share this episode with a friend * This podcast is powered by curiosity—and by listeners like you. Support future episodes at ko-fi.com/jackihayes [http://ko-fi.com/jackihayes] * Follow me on Instagram at @jackihayes_obm [https://instagram.com/jackihayes_obm]   Proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective [https://feministpodcasterscollective.com/], a community of indie creators amplifying each other’s work through collaboration and care.   Credits: Intro and Outro Music: Atomic by Alex-Productions |https://onsound.eu/ [https://onsound.eu/] Music promoted byhttps://www.free-stock-music.com [https://www.free-stock-music.com/] Creative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US]