Off the Grid: Leaving Social Media

For the third and final installment in our business pivots + evolutions series, I’m talking to Heather Bax of Small Business Rodeo!
Heather is a business advisor, human design reader, notion lover, and occasional artist. Her expertise spans decades of service, product, and brick & mortar small business stewardship, and she’s supported all kinds of creative businesses along the way.

In this conversation, we explore:
How self-employment journeys often begin in bad-fit jobs
Why Heather & Amelia both took detours through coding bootcamps
The benefits of a bridge job as you grow or change your business
A quick checklist on how Heather started her retail shop (& you can too!)
Why Heather had a full-time job for the first 8 months of running the store
The realities of transitioning to e-commerce during COVID
Hiring + grieving at the same time
Leaning on the community of your business in hard times
When quitting ISN’T failing
How big changes in our work can impact our self-trust
 
For the astro-curious, Heather is a 6/2 Projector and a Cancer Sun, Pisces Moon, and Gemini Rising. You can book a Human Designed Business Session with her and use code OFFTHEGRID for 10%!
 
 
RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for exclusive bonus episodes + emails
 

COMMUNITY SPONSORS
🐢 Turn inconsistent marketing into a clear & focused plan that actually leads to sales! Join the Decelerator with Amanda Laird, a guided program for solo business woenrs who are already doing a lot, but not seeing results. Learn more & save $100 with code AMELIASPALS: amandalaird.com/decelerator

Chereen Leong Schwarz is a founder, maker, outdoor adventurer, and rewilding guide. She’s a former chef who started a knitwear brand and then moved into creative retreats — after a period of prolonged grief.
In this conversation, we dive deep into what pivoting really feels like as we explore:
Chereen’s chef career from fine dining to farms
How moving to Colorado spurred her love of knitting
The realities of turning a hobby into a side hustle
Specific ways to center your values in your business
How multiple losses + a health crisis led Chereen through a transformative grief portal
Different methods of building community in and around your business
How to evolve when your work is wrapped up in your ego + identity
The grief the comes when your industry changes and it hurts your business
Why Chereen & Amelia both took sabbaticals before deciding to close their companies
How we grapple with public opinions + projection as we share our work online
   
RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for exclusive bonus episodes + emails
⭐️ Use this link to book a free 30-minute session with Chereen: https://calendar.app.google/UydiFHhcLgqzvNUr9
⭐️ RSVP for the free workshop with Podge in October: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fTY89RN7TfS1grKD7Vs64g
 

COMMUNITY SPONSORS
🐢 Turn inconsistent marketing into a clear & focused plan that actually leads to sales! Join the Decelerator with Amanda Laird, a guided program for solo business woenrs who are already doing a lot, but not seeing results. Learn more & save $100 with code AMELIASPALS: amandalaird.com/decelerator

Softer Sounds is officially closed, my friends. And in this Clubhouse-exclusive episode, I'm telling you all about that journey.

This one's mostly-personal and a-little-bit-logistical –  heavy on story with a checklist at the end.

Tune in to an episode preview here, and become a paid subscriber of the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse to get all the details.
 
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When you join the Clubhouse, you'll get access to over 50 bonus episodes (and counting), curated tech + creative business newsletters, and more. Plus your own private podcast feed, comments threads, and behind-the-scenes updates on the show.
Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)

 
RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for exclusive bonus episodes + emails

Today I’m joined by Luca J. Davis to talk about success, failure, and what 13 years of self-employment really entails.

Together we explore:
Luca’s path from health teacher to personal trainer
How they opened a gym with a dream and a GoFundMe
The radically honest reality of brick-and-mortar finances
When filing for bankruptcy is the best choice for you & your biz
Luca’s detour as a Virtual Assistant & how they started their web design business
The systems that help them book our their services while marketing only once a year
How Luca’s Substack walks the line between personal sharing & biz promotion
   
 ➡️ If you'd like to hire Luca for website support in 2026/2027, just mention Off the Grid for $200 off your package!
 
RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for exclusive bonus episodes + emails
 

COMMUNITY SPONSORS
🐢 Turn inconsistent marketing into a clear & focused plan that actually leads to sales! Join the Decelerator with Amanda Laird, a guided program for solo business woenrs who are already doing a lot, but not seeing results. Learn more & save $100 with code AMELIASPALS: amandalaird.com/decelerator

Welcome to Season 11 of Off the Grid!
This month, we're exploring strategies + stories of business pivots.
Today we start with my business triage process. It's a checklist of things to consider when your business feels bad and/or isn't making enough money.
Then for the next three weeks, we'll hear from business owners who have made major pivots in their self-employment journeys, including: quitting a dream job, filing for bankruptcy, closing a retail store, and more.
Tune in for lots of support, camaraderie + inspiration. And check the links below for extra resources 👇
 
RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for exclusive bonus episodes + emails
 

COMMUNITY SPONSORS
🐢 Turn inconsistent marketing into a clear & focused plan that actually leads to sales! Join the Decelerator with Amanda Laird, a guided program for solo business woenrs who are already doing a lot, but not seeing results. Learn more & save $100 with code AMELIASPALS: amandalaird.com/decelerator