When You're Done: How to Pivot Your Career, Ditch People-Pleasing, and Trust Your Gut in Business

When You're Done: How to Pivot Your Career, Ditch People-Pleasing, and Trust Your Gut in Business

LauraAura built a branding agency for 16 years… then sold it and started completely over as a keynote speaker and coach. In this conversation, she and Melinda Jackson go deep on people-pleasing, identity shifts, trusting yourself when it doesn't make sense on paper, and why the pay-to-speak model is garbage. Also: beef in a sports bra went LinkedIn-viral, and it actually says something important about personal branding. Come for the business talk, stay for the chaos. Unhinged Founder Ep. 18 Links Connect with LauraAura —lauraaura.com [http://lauraaura.com] — https://www.instagram.com/thatlauraaura/ [https://www.instagram.com/thatlauraaura/] — The Gutsy Podcast [https://lauraaura.com/the-gutsy-podcast/] Connect with Melinda Jackson: — https://melindajacksonpr.com [https://melindajacksonpr.com] — https://instagram.com/melindajacksonpr [https://instagram.com/melindajacksonpr] — https://linkedin.com/in/melindajacksonpr [https://linkedin.com/in/melindajacksonpr] Podcast Production: — https://airwavearcade.com [https://airwavearcade.com] #WomenInBusiness #CareerPivot #PeoplePleasing #FemaleFounder #TrustYourGut #EntrepreneurMindset

Why Women Entrepreneurs Feel Lonely (And How to Fix It)

Building a business as a female founder can feel isolating, overwhelming, and misunderstood—but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode, Crissy Fishbane, co-founder of Her Healthollective, shares how she built a thriving community for moms while navigating burnout, boundaries, and the emotional weight of entrepreneurship. We dive into the real challenges women in business face: loneliness, people-pleasing, client relationships, and the pressure to be everything for everyone. Chrissy breaks down how to build a community-driven business, create meaningful connections, and lead with intention without losing yourself in the process. Unhinged Founder Ep. 17 Links Connect with Emily Burnette — https://herhealthcollective.com/ [https://herhealthcollective.com/] — https://www.instagram.com/her_healthcollective/ [https://www.instagram.com/her_healthcollective/] — Mama Needs A Moment Podcast [https://herhealthcollective.com/podcast/] Connect with Melinda Jackson: — https://melindajacksonpr.com [https://melindajacksonpr.com] — https://instagram.com/melindajacksonpr [https://instagram.com/melindajacksonpr] — https://linkedin.com/in/melindajacksonpr [https://linkedin.com/in/melindajacksonpr] Podcast Production: — https://airwavearcade.com [https://airwavearcade.com] #femaleentrepreneur #womeninbusiness #femalefounders #entrepreneurlife #businessgrowth #mompreneur #leadership

How Female Founders Can Elevate Their Personal Brand Through Style

Your wardrobe might be saying more about your business than you realize. In this episode of Unhinged Founder, Melinda sits down with personal stylist and color consultant Emily Burnette to unpack how personal style influences confidence, leadership presence, and personal branding for women in business. Emily spent years working in the fashion industry in both New York and Los Angeles, styling clients, working with luxury brands, and navigating the intense world of celebrity fashion. Now she helps women entrepreneurs and professionals develop a style that reflects who they are and where they’re going in their careers. Melinda and Emily talk about the psychology behind clothing, why color analysis has exploded again online, and how women can use style as a tool for visibility and confidence in business. They also get honest about the darker side of the fashion industry, the pressure inside celebrity styling, and why so many people misunderstand what a real stylist actually does. Unhinged Founder Ep. 16 Links Connect with Emily Burnette — https://emilyburnette.com [https://emilyburnette.com] — https://www.instagram.com/emilyburnettestylist [https://www.instagram.com/emilyburnettestylist] — https://www.tiktok.com/@emilyburnettestylist [https://www.tiktok.com/@emilyburnettestylist] Connect with Melinda Jackson: — https://melindajacksonpr.com [https://melindajacksonpr.com] — https://instagram.com/melindajacksonpr [https://instagram.com/melindajacksonpr] — https://linkedin.com/in/melindajacksonpr [https://linkedin.com/in/melindajacksonpr] Podcast Production: — https://airwavearcade.com [https://airwavearcade.com] #WomenInBusiness #FemaleFounders #WomenEntrepreneurs #PersonalBranding#WomenInLeadership #FemaleCEO #EntrepreneurLife

Why Female Founders Struggle to Show Up Online

Building a personal brand as a female founder can feel uncomfortable, awkward, and even terrifying. Most women entrepreneurs know they need to show up online, but few actually feel confident doing it. In this episode of Unhinged Founder, Melinda sits down with brand storytelling photographer Roxanne Engstrom to talk about the real reason so many women in business struggle with visibility, personal branding, and showing up confidently online. Roxanne shares how she went from teacher to international storyteller and photographer after living overseas in East Africa, and how that journey shaped her approach to ethical storytelling and brand photography for women entrepreneurs. They dive deep into the reality of building a business while raising kids, navigating burnout, pivoting careers, imposter syndrome, pricing your work, and the pressure female founders feel to look successful online. Roxanne also explains why most brand photos fail, what actually makes personal branding work in 2026, and how female CEOs can show up with clarity, confidence, and authenticity. Unhinged Founder Ep. 15 Links Connect with Roxanne Engstrom: — https://hawaimages.com [https://hawaimages.com] — https://www.instagram.com/hawaimages [https://www.instagram.com/hawaimages] — https://www.instagram.com/roxengstrom [https://www.instagram.com/roxengstrom] Connect with Melinda Jackson: — https://melindajacksonpr.com [https://melindajacksonpr.com] — https://instagram.com/melindajacksonpr [https://instagram.com/melindajacksonpr] — https://linkedin.com/in/melindajacksonpr [https://linkedin.com/in/melindajacksonpr] Podcast Production: — https://airwavearcade.com [https://airwavearcade.com] #WomenInBusiness #FemaleFounders #WomenEntrepreneurs #PersonalBranding #FemaleCEO #EntrepreneurMindset #WomenSupportingWomen

Reinventing Your Life After Divorce as a Female Founder

Reinventing your life after divorce as a female founder isn’t reckless — it’s radical self-trust. It’s choosing alignment over comfort, identity over conditioning, and courage over staying small. In this episode, Melinda sits down with Jackie Smythe to talk about what it actually looks like to leave a 13-year marriage, sell everything you own, move to Tulum, and rebuild your life and business from scratch at 41. Jackie shares her journey from building a successful fitness brand in New York and Philadelphia to burning out, discovering human design, and stepping fully into a new chapter as a transformational entrepreneur. They talk about people-pleasing, emotional regulation, self-worth, money mindset, starting over after 40, and why so many women in business stay in situations long after they’ve outgrown them. They also get into identity shifts, nervous system regulation, trusting your intuition, moving abroad, building community as a female founder, and what happens when you finally stop modifying yourself to make everyone else comfortable. Unhinged Founder Ep. 14 Links: Connect: — Jackie Smythe’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/iamjackiesmythe [https://www.instagram.com/iamjackiesmythe] — Melinda Jackson Public Relations: https://melindajacksonpr.com [https://melindajacksonpr.com] — MJPR’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/melindajacksonpr [https://instagram.com/melindajacksonpr] — Melinda Jackson’s LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/melindajacksonpr [https://linkedin.com/in/melindajacksonpr] — Airwave Arcade (Podcast Production): www.airwavearcade.com [http://www.airwavearcade.com] #WomenInBusiness #FemaleFounders #WomenEntrepreneurs #FemaleCEO #StartingOverAt40 #DivorceRecovery #EntrepreneurLife