We Built This Life

22/01/2024

Goodbye to We Built This Life, my podcast that launched in 2019 to tell small business stories.

There's a lot of things I never figured out about podcasting: how to edit an episode in less than 10 hours, how to drop an episode a week, how to build connections and a social media following.

But this show served me well after I had my third child and then through the pandemic, when I needed an outlet for myself. I'm grateful to everyone who gave me their time as a guest. I learned so much from you and I know listeners did, too.

A huge THANK YOU to the talented who designed the WBTL graphics (except for a few in this post with the slightly off spacing).

I'm going to leave up the podcast for now. I'm not quite ready to change my IG handle either (). So We Built This Life will live on for a little while.

I might come back to podcasting with a new topic some day, I feel good about the small business stories that were told and the work I put out there (which is so satisfying to see in photo grid form in this post). And I feel confident that I've covered all I need to cover on this subject. Time for the next thing.

04/10/2023

Episode 35 of We Built This Life with Kari Miller of Tiny Dog Press is about growing a small business at your own pace, and more. Listen here: https://tinyurl.com/4ww6muz3

When a friend asked Kari Miller to print his wedding invitations, she saw that his fiancé at the time had created an illustration of Baltimore’s “Greatest City in America” bench. Kari thought the image would make a great card, and this was the beginning of Tiny Dog Press.

In this episode, Kari talks about:

• How she discovered her niche in cards even though she doesn’t consider herself a “word person”;

• How she developed the theme for her cards;

• How she navigates conversations about small business pricing with customers;

• What she is most proud of (hint: it has to be do with finances);

• How she works to keep her small business from being too all-consuming and ultimately find balance in her life; and more.

Thank you for listening!

03/10/2023

Episode 35 of We Built This Life is coming tomorrow! Here's a sneak peek with Kari Miller from on the design that led her to make her first screen-printed card and ultimately start her small business.

03/07/2023

Tiera Chin from on her best advice for entrepreneurs. Listen to Episode 34 of We Built This Life to hear how Tiera turned a version of her family’s crab sauce recipe into a small business: https://apple.co/3XAj1f2.

30/06/2023

Episode 34 with Tiera Chin of Yorktown Spice is about when a family recipe inspires a small business. https://apple.co/3XAj1f2

In 2021, Tiera Chin was working full-time in the healthcare industry while raising two little daughters, the youngest of which was 4 months old.

This is also when she launched her new small business, Yorktown Spice, featuring her crab sauce that was inspired by a family tradition and recipe.

In this episode, Tiera talks about:

**The actual steps she took to get her food product-based business off the ground;

**What she has learned about balancing time and priorities;

**Facing fears and uncertainties as an entrepreneur and how she responds;

**Her best advice for other entrepreneurs;

**What she wishes consumers knew about small businesses; and more.

Thank you so much for listening!

05/06/2023

Monday Advice: Erin Scott from Believe In Dog Podcast on the realities of starting a podcast and how to decide if it's for you. Listen to Erin's full entrepreneur story on Episode 33 of We Built This Life. https://tinyurl.com/2p25ytph

Also sharing a different clip on the We Built This Life Instagram page ().

Thank you for listening!

01/06/2023

Episode 33 of We Built This Life with Erin Scott from the Believe In Dog Podcast is about when a hobby leads to a small business. https://tinyurl.com/2p25ytph

In 2019, Erin became a cancer survivor and decided to start saying yes to the ideas that excited her. A dedicated dog mom, she started the Believe in Dog podcast to tell heartfelt stories about the powerful connections between other people and their dogs.

In this episode, Erin talks about gaining confidence as a podcaster, launching her first product, and how she is leveraging the skills she’s learned into her new small business, Erin Scott Podcasts.

Links in bio. Thanks so much for listening!

24/05/2023

Midweek Motivation: Rebekah Murray from .and.co on her best advice for entrepreneurs—advice that I think is valuable for anyone starting something new. Listen to Episode 32 of We Built This Life to hear Rebekah’s small business story. https://tinyurl.com/5cv534uf

19/05/2023

Episode 32 of We Built This Life with Rebekah Murray from Dare & Co. (.and.co) is about mental challenges in entrepreneurship—and the rewards that come with getting through them. https://tinyurl.com/5cv534uf

💫💫💫💫

In 2014, Rebekah Murray, an entrepreneur throughout her adult life, was looking to transition from international wedding photography to something new.

Her parents suggested she start a clothing line. She had been thinking of having some dresses made for herself, so the idea seemed like a fit.

Three years later, Rebekah launched Virginia Dare Dress Co. with a line of timeless, high-quality women’s dresses. In 2020, she added heartfelt gift boxes to her offerings. And today, she unveiled her new brand name: Dare & Co.

On this episode, Rebekah talks about:

💫 The various outlets she used to launch her company, from a Kickstarter to a Facebook focus group;

💫 An unexpected turn in her business due to customer interest;

💫 How she has dealt with challenging life seasons while still being an entrepreneur who needs to keep her business going;

💫 What success as an entrepreneur looks like to her;

💫 Her best advice for other small business owners (I think anyone launching something in public will identify with this); and more.

Thank you so much for listening!

10/05/2023

Midweek Motivation: Ashley Williams from on an underrated skill in business and in life. Clymb offers software to help school-aged children build their emotional intelligence and coping skills. Listen to Episode 31 of We Built This Life to hear Ashley's small business story. https://tinyurl.com/y7z8969c

05/05/2023

Ashley Williams from on the positive impacts that learning emotional intelligence can have during childhood and throughout adulthood. Listen to Episode 31 of We Built This Life to hear how she created a company that offers software to help school-aged children build this essential skill. https://tinyurl.com/y7z8969c

04/05/2023

Episode 31 of the We Built This Life podcast with Ashley Williams from Clymb () touches on persistence and mindfulness and how these two skills helped Ashley build her own company. https://tinyurl.com/y7z8969c

In 2018, Ashley Williams, a former educator and school leader in Baltimore City, founded Clymb (then known as Infinite Focus Schools), her company that produces emotional health software for school-aged children.

In this episode, Ashley talks about:

💫 The resources she used to build Clymb from an idea to a thriving small business;

💫 The benefits of learning emotional regulation and coping skills in childhood—and how these skills carry into adulthood;

💫 How Clymb works to help children build these emotional health skills;

💫 How she has used these skills herself to respond to challenging feelings that came in her early days of entrepreneurship;

💫 Her take on an underrated skill in business and in life, and more.

Links in bio. Thank you so much for listening!

17/03/2023

Episode 29 of We Built This Life podcast is live! https://tinyurl.com/5n8thcxm

This episode with Mandy Memmel of Hon’s Honey is about building relationships and helping women rise through social enterprise.

After spending a decade serving the community of Curtis Bay in Baltimore, Mandy Memmel founded Drink at the Well (The Well) to provide a space to build relationships, as well as a range of support services, for women facing trauma, such as addiction, abuse, and generational poverty.

Five years later, Mandy took the next step and opened Hon’s Honey, a social enterprise business. Hon’s Honey offers local honey, bath and body products, and gifts—and provides stable employment and financial independence to women from The Well.

In this episode, Mandy talks about:

💫 How the decade she spent mentoring women and in Curtis Bay led to The Well, and how she has built trust in the community through the years;

💫 How The Well provides a range of support to women, from making sure their basic needs are met to helping them build their own life plan through the COR Life Mentorship Program;

💫 How she got Hon’s Honey off the ground and developed the concept of The Hive for her business;

💫 The critical thing she considers when hiring within the nonprofit world and how she approaches her role as manager;

💫 The challenges, what she is most proud of, and what she wishes she knew when she started her nonprofit/business.

Thank you so much for listening!

12/02/2023

Episode 28 is live! https://tinyurl.com/ycktybdf

This episode with Emma Reisinger of Yellow House Farm is about finding your place in the industry that interests you, even if the road is slightly winding to get there.

Since 2017, Emma has owned Yellow House Farm, her small business that started as a tiny farm and CSA outside of her yellow house in the Cedmont neighborhood of northeast Baltimore. Today, the business has evolved to focus on ecological gardening and landscaping.

In this episode, Emma talks about:

** How she found her place within agriculture and built Yellow House Farm while working as a line cook (which she describes as essentially working one job to support the other);

** Her business strategies for CSAs vs. farmers’ markets;

** Her ideal clients, and how she manages people as a leader and boss;

** How her business evolved to focus on ecological gardening; and

** The romanticizing of farming as a lifestyle and the reality of her experience with finances as a business owner in the agriculture industry.

Thank you so much for listening!

13/12/2022

Kate Christian, owner of , on how saying yes to opportunities helped her grow her woodworking business. Listen to Kate's small business story on Episode 27 of the We Built This Life podcast: https://tinyurl.com/5ys46vyc.

12/12/2022

Episode 27 is live! https://tinyurl.com/5ys46vyc

This episode focuses on a small business story about saying yes to opportunities and having the courage to follow new paths.

After moving to Baltimore in 2014, Kate Christian got a gift certificate to the Station North Tool Library from her wife. She took a cutting board class, fell in love with working with wood, and ultimately found a new career path.

Today, Kate owns Bliss Woodworks (), which specializes in custom woodworking projects and furniture. She also teaches one-on-one classes.

In this episode, Kate talks about:

• Her early careers as a business analyst, a boat captain, and as COO for a company that made at-home STD tests;

• Why that cutting board class was so pivotal for her and how she built Bliss Woodworks;

• Taking big leaps and when she knew it was time to do so, such as when she moved from a 200-square-foot studio space to a 1,200-square-foot warehouse;

• The psychological challenges of being a small business owner, as well as her successes and advice for other small business owners;

• Evolving as an entrepreneur and what her vision is for Bliss Woodworks going forward; and more.

Thanks so much for listening!

22/11/2022

Nina Ross, owner of Nina's Cookie Explosion, on building collaborations, particularly with Koba Café in Baltimore, and how she has come to view feelings of rejection and failure as opportunities for learning. Listen to Nina tell her small business story on Episode 25 of the We Built This Life podcast. https://tinyurl.com/msbnsxcb

21/11/2022

Episode 25 of the We Built This Life podcast with Nina Ross from Nina’s Cookie Explosion is live! https://tinyurl.com/msbnsxcb

During the pandemic, Nina Ross’ full-time job suddenly became part-time, and she needed something to do with the extra hours in her week.

Her family holds cookie parties every December, and these are some of Nina’s most cherished memories. So Nina started baking again, and she gave the dozens of cookies she made to friends and family.

After a few months, Nina decided to turn her passion into a small business. She founded Nina’s Cookie Explosion, a company that offers specialty and customizable cookies and doughs, in September 2020.

In this episode, Nina talks about:

• How she got Nina’s Cookie Explosion off the ground and how her most popular products are not necessarily what she anticipated;

• How she balances her day job, which is now full-time again, with being a small business owner;

• How she builds collaborations both through organic connections and intentional outreach;

• Her big break when it felt like her business started to experience exceptional growth;

• How she views rejection as an opportunity for growth and learning; and more.

Thanks so much for listening!

19/10/2022

Community artist and muralist Jaz Erenberg on what she wishes she knew when she started her small business. Listen to Jaz tell her small business story on Episode 24 of the We Built This Life podcast. https://tinyurl.com/jaz-erenberg

18/10/2022

Episode 24 of the We Built This Life podcast with Jaz Erenberg is live! https://tinyurl.com/jaz-erenberg

While she was a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore-based artist and muralist Jaz Erenberg worked on her first community-centered art piece with the homeless population residing along Falls Way.

Then, around graduation, Jaz was part of artist Michael Owen’s HOME Artist Residency. This opportunity allowed her to continue to focus on public art while painting her first mural, a large, quote-filled blue piece in Highlandtown that centers on the theme of “What is home?”

Today, Jaz is an independent muralist with 25 brightly-colored works throughout Baltimore, including a piece on the exterior of her home in Upper Fell’s Point. (Photo credit: Amber Kissner)

In this episode, Jaz talks about:

• How she developed her style as an artist and the process behind five of her pieces and projects, including the Highlandtown mural and her work with the East Baltimore Midway neighborhood as a Designer in Residence with the Neighborhood Design Center;

• How she engages communities in her art, how this process has evolved over time, and how her background as a teacher has been an asset in her work;

• The time when she was contemplating leaving teaching to focus on her work as an independent muralist, and how she reached this decision;

• What she wishes she knew when she started her business, her advice for other artists, and more.

Thanks so much for listening!

06/09/2022

Episode 23 of the We Built This Life podcast is live! (https://www.webuiltthislife.com/podcast/episode-23-how-michele-dickinson-became-a-life-and-business-coach/)

Michele Dickinson had been building her successful corporate career at a large investment firm for more than a decade. But after having her third baby in 2018, she started to think about her life’s purpose and began to feel she was meant to be doing something else.

Michele ultimately became a life and business coach who focuses on helping women build legacies and make a difference in the world through entrepreneurship and online businesses.

In this episode, Michele talks about:

💫 When she reached her own turning point professionally and began to feel a nudge to shift away from her corporate career;

💫 How she found her first client and refined her offerings, including private and group coaching, and a few examples of clients have made major shifts while working with her;

💫 Building community on social media and how she strives to share vulnerably and authentically while also providing value;

💫 Money, pricing, and knowing your own worth;

💫 Finding balance as a business owner; a consultant at her corporate job, a position she held until recently; and a wife and mom of three; and more.

Listen on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or at the website link below. Thanks so much for tuning in!

Michele Dickinson had been building her successful corporate career at a large investment firm for more than a decade. But after having her third baby in 2018, she started to think about her life’s purpose and began to feel she was meant to be doing something else. Michele ultimately became a life...

26/07/2022

Episode 22 of the We Built This Life podcast is live! 🎧 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-aaron-dante-built-the-no-pix-after-dark-podcast/id1464949044?i=1000571177207

For about a decade, Aaron Dante was one of the hosts of an annual party called No Pix After Dark. So in 2018, when he was planning to start a podcast to tell positive stories, he used the same name, and the people who came to his parties, including his college friends and their friends, became his audience.

Today, has nearly 200 episodes and an audience across the U.S., and Aaron has several corporate partners and sponsors and just celebrated his third consecutive Reader’s Choice Award for “Best Podcast” from The Baltimore Sun. (Photo cred: Schaun Champion)

In this episode, Aaron talks about:

💫 How No Pix After Dark’s focus shifted to Baltimore, and how he’ll be expanding to include areas outside of the city in episodes to come;

💫 Boundaries and how Aaron balances working full-time and being a dad to two young kids with his regular podcast schedule;

💫 How Aaron managed the time when he wasn’t sure he should continue his show—a common feeling after podcasting for several months—and the experience that made him want to keep pushing forward;

💫 What’s next for the No Pix After Dark podcast, including the new season in the fall and some hints into a Patreon page that Aaron plans to launch; and more.

Links in bio. Check out the show notes, which contain links to a good sample of Aaron’s episodes. Thank you so much for tuning in!

01/06/2021

Episode 17 of We Built This Life with Rachel Wagner from FIT4MOM Baltimore City is live!

Rachel Wagner’s path to fitness company franchise owner began in a pub with a near stranger about 7 years ago.

This is when Rachel, a former teacher and a mom to one young daughter at the time, got to talking to another mom about how FIT4MOM Baltimore City, a company that offers fitness classes and community for moms, was going up for sale. The two didn’t have more than a passing relationship, but they decided to go into business together.

Today, Rachel, now a mom of 2, is the sole owner of FIT4MOM Baltimore City.

On this episode, Rachel talks about:

🔅How she has taken on the role of business owner without having a background in business;

🔅How she has shaped FIT4MOM Baltimore City, an already-existing business when she bought it, and made it her own;

🔅How she transferred into sole ownership of FIT4MOM Baltimore City and how she got through her most challenging year as a business owner;

🔅FIT4MOM’s (the national organization) United in Anti-Racism/United in Motherhood initiative and how she is striving incorporate this initiative into her community;

🔅And, as always, successes, challenges, and the biggest lesson she has learned as a small business owner.

Listen at webuiltthislife.com or your favorite podcast player (links in bio). As always, thank you so much for tuning in!