Here's What I Learned: Ditching Biz-as-Usual for Values, Freedom, and Doing It Your Way
Welcome to Here’s What I Learned — the podcast for progressive entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses without sacrificing their values, creativity, or capacity. I’m Jacki Hayes: systems strategist, unapologetic smutty romantasy fan, and D&D geek. Around here, we get real about what it actually takes to build a business that fits your life.
Every episode offers something to take with you — sometimes through conversations with values-driven founders, sometimes through solo episodes where I dig into the lessons I’m learning inside my own business. We explore the choices we’re testing, the questions that create clarity, the experiments that move us forward, and the systems that stay simple on purpose.
If you value integrity, curiosity, and time freedom—and you’re looking for inspiration that’s as practical as it is empowering—you’ve found your people. Hit play, and let’s rewrite the rules together.
Episodes
107 episodes
The Time Tracking Experiment: What Your Hourly Rate Really Is
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 tea...
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Season 10
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Episode 4
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10:58
The Group Onboarding Experiment: What Happens When You Scale Past 1:1
Onboarding one client is one thing. Onboarding a group is an entirely different experiment. In this episode, I’m joined again by Bridget Baker to unpack what really happens when you try to onboard a group program in a way that feels...
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19:30
The Intentional Engagement Experiment: Tracking Conversations That Grow Your Business
What happens when you stop letting good conversations get buried in your DMs and actually start paying attention to them?In this episode, I’m joined by Jayci Trujillo of Happy Girl Marketing to kick off Season 10’s first experimen...
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Season 10
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Episode 2
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19:26
Every Launch Is an Experiment: What I Learned From a Zero-Signup Workshop
This episode is a full, honest debrief of a launch that didn’t convert — and what I learned anyway.I promoted a brand-new workshop more than any other offer I’ve ever put out into the world. I showed up consistently. I talked about it ev...
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Season 10
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Episode 1
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8:37
Season 10 Trailer
Welcome to Season 10 of Here’s What I Learned. I’m Jacki Hayes — a systems thinker with a soft spot for smutty fantasy books and anything involving dice rolls. I help creative business owners build systems that feel honest, doable, and...
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1:19
Episode 99: Best-Of Here’s What I Learned
As I wrap up Season 9 and look ahead to Season 10, I wanted to do something a little different — a mixtape of the moments and ideas that still shape how I think about work, rest, and doing business differently.These clips remind me why I...
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Season 9
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Episode 14
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23:18
From Burnout to Better Systems: Biggest Business Lessons (Mixtape Edition)
In this final mixtape edition of Here’s What I Learned, three entrepreneurs share the biggest business lessons they’ve learned since their last visit—covering how to redefine success, simplify operations, and build sustainable systems that actu...
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Season 9
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Episode 13
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17:51
Evolving as a Business Owner (Mixtape Edition)
This is the second mixtape I'm sharing as we head toward episode ninety-nine. The question this time: How have you evolved as a business owner over the years? You’ll hear short notes on what changed, what stayed, and how that shows up da...
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Season 9
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Episode 12
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17:05
Business Experiments That Flopped—And What We Did Next (Mixtape Edition)
This mixtape is one of three I'm sharing as we head toward episode ninety-nine. I asked past guests (and I chime in, too): What’s one experiment you tried in your business that didn’t land the way you expected—and how did you respond? You’ll he...
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Season 9
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Episode 11
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18:39
Joyful Business, Aligned Marketing with M. Shannon Hernandez
What if you only marketed your business in ways that actually brought you joy? What if you could ditch the pressure to “be everywhere” and still build a thriving, values-aligned brand? In this episode, I’m joined by M. Shannon Herna...
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Season 9
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Episode 10
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31:48
Do You Need a New Tool, or Does Your Process Need Care?
If leads are slipping and proposals stall, it’s tempting to blame the platform. In this solo episode, I explain why most “tool problems” are really process gaps—and how I use my CARE framework (Clarity, Align, Reduce, Ease) to make the tools yo...
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Season 9
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Episode 9
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9:40
Why Empathy is Your Strongest Copywriting Strategy with Krista Walsh
What if your best marketing strategy isn’t a formula—but your ability to actually care?In this episode of Here’s What I Learned, website strategist and messaging expert Krista Walsh joins me to challenge the “best pract...
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Season 9
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Episode 7
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21:56
Building a Business That Includes You with Faith Clarke
When we talk about building businesses that work for us, what does that actually mean in practice?This week on Here’s What I Learned, I’m joined by Faith Clarke—organizational culture strategist and co-creator of Femini...
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Season 9
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Episode 7
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30:00
Systems That Flex With You: Designing a Business Around Your Energy
When your business relies entirely on your energy—how you feel, how focused you are, how much you can give—your systems need to work with you, not against you.In this re-released conversation from the Business with Ease...
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Season 9
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Episode 6
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16:58
Visibility Without Burnout for Introverted Entrepreneurs with Tara Reid
What if building a successful business didn’t require you to constantly show up, speak louder, or outwork everyone around you? In this episode of Here’s What I Learned, I’m joined by Tara Reid—business and marketing s...
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Season 9
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Episode 5
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23:50
Dismantling the Online Business Industrial Complex with Megan Dowd
What does it really look like to build a business around your lived experience, your values, and your bandwidth—especially when capitalism tells you to do the opposite?In this episode of Here’s What I Learned, I’m joine...
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Season 9
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Episode 4
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37:40
Small Shifts That Support You When Work Slows Down
If business feels quieter right now—more space, fewer deadlines—you’re not alone. And you’re definitely not doing it wrong. In this solo episode, I’m sharing the small shifts that have helped me (and the solopreneurs I work with) na...
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8:51
Redefining “Done Right” in Business with Sarah Gemmell
What if the way you’re “supposed to” grow your business… doesn’t actually work for you?In this episode, I’m joined by marketing strategist and entrepreneur Sarah Gemmell for a conversation that goes beyond funnels and frameworks...
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Season 9
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Episode 2
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25:01
Human Design, Uncertainty, and Strategic Evolution with Katherine Danesi
What does it take to lead a business through seasons of change—and still feel like yourself inside of it?In this episode of Here’s What I Learned, Katherine Danesi joins me for a candid conversation on navigating uncertainty, ev...
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Season 9
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Episode 1
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27:54
Season 9 Trailer
What if the way you build your business mattered just as much as what you build?In Season 9 of Here’s What I Learned, we’re shining a light on the path less promoted—the one paved with sustainable practices, nervous-system-frien...
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2:30
Here’s What I Learned in Season 8: Boundaries, Alignment & Growth
We’ve made it to the end of Season 8—and today, I’m sharing the biggest themes that came up across every conversation I had with this season’s incredible business owners. These aren’t just talking points; they’re real-world lessons from folks w...
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Season 8
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Episode 16
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7:22
Balancing a 9–5 and a Business: Real Talk for Multi-Passionate Creatives with Chelsey Newmyer
Can you build a business you love and keep your day job—without burning out?I sit down with Chelsey Newmyer, behavior change specialist and founder of From Overwhelmed to Under Control, to unpack what it really...
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Season 8
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Episode 15
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26:06
The Consent-First Approach to Email Marketing with Bev Feldman
When your inbox values don’t align with your ethics... it’s time to change the rules.In this conversation, Jacki sits down with Bev Feldman—email strategist, tech fairy, and outspoken advocate for human-first systems—to unpack what it re...
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Season 8
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Episode 14
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27:38
Lead Like a Starling: Emergent Strategy Lessons for Solopreneurs with Taina Brown
When your business demands more than your body can give, what do you do? In this episode, I sit down with Taina Brown—personal and professional development coach, somatic facilitator, and strategy whiz—for a powerful conversation on sustainable...
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Season 8
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Episode 13
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33:58
Not Ready to Hire? 5 Strategies That Buy You Time and Energy
What if staying solo didn’t mean staying stuck?This episode is your permission slip to step out of the client-work grind without adding to your payroll. Whether you’ve tried hiring and hated it, aren’t financially ready, or just...
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Season 8
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Episode 12
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10:04