Cake Therapy
Cake Therapy is a heartwarming and uplifting podcast that celebrates the transformative power of baking therapy. Hosted by Dr. Altreisha Foster, the passionate baker, entrepreneur and advocate behind Cake Therapy, this podcast is a delightful blend of inspiring stories, expert insights and practical baking tips. Each episode takes listeners on a journey of self-discovery, emotional healing and connection through the therapeutic art of baking.
Cake Therapy
From Burnout To Blueprint: Octavia McIntosh on Designing A Life of Freedom
What happens when your spark fades but your calling won’t stay quiet? We sit with author and strategist Octavia McIntosh to trace the honest arc from high-output corporate life to designing a freedom-aligned business that doesn’t demand constant presence. Octavia opens up about the subtle signs of burnout, the two-year inner conversation that led to her “I’m out” moment, and the practical blueprint she wished she had—now captured in her book and a growing I’m Out ecosystem.
Together we unpack four anchors that changed her leadership and her life: knowing herself, deepening self-awareness, understanding people, and regulating how she shows up. Octavia shares how she reframed the fear of failure with a better question—what if it works—and why freedom, for her, means income that continues even when she steps back. We explore small rituals that restore calm and clarity: faith as a steady center, quiet time under a tree, the medicine of wind and water, play with her dogs, and even coloring to release the need to chase. These practices aren’t escapism; they’re strategy, making space for better decisions and better results.
If your nine-to-five feels like a slow leak of energy, you’ll find clear first steps here: detach mentally, step outside the noise, watch your life like a film, and notice what needs to stop and what wants to start. Octavia’s roadmap isn’t a reckless leap; it’s a thoughtful plan to replace your salary, test your offers while employed, and transition with evidence and ease. Along the way, we return to our own mission—baking as therapy, memory, and community—because healing works best when our hands and hearts move together.
Subscribe, share this with someone who needs courage to change, and leave a review so others can find the show. When you’re ready to explore Octavia’s work, search “I’m Out” by Octavia McIntosh on Amazon and connect with her on Instagram at @iamoctaviamcintosh. Let’s bake clarity, one brave choice at a time.
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Welcome to the Cake Therapy Podcast, a slice of joy and healing with your host, Dr. Altricia Foster. This is a heartwarming and uplifting space that celebrates the transformative power of baking therapy. The conversations will be a delightful blend of inspirational stories, expert insights, and practical baking tips. Each episode will take listeners on a journey of self-discovery, emotional healing, and connection through the therapeutic art of baking. There's something here for everyone. So lock in and let's get into it.
SPEAKER_02:Hi everyone, welcome back to the Cake Therapy Podcast with me, your host, Dr. Trisha Foster. This is your slice of joy and healing and for creative renewal. We believe that baking is more than a treat, it's therapy, it's memory, it's community. If this is your first time tuning in, hit the follow button, leave a review, and share this podcast with your online community. Don't forget to tag us the Sugarspoon Desserts as well as the Cake Therapy Podcast. Today I'm excited to bring to you a friend of mine. This guest brings a bold mix of strategy, healing, sisterhood to this conversation. We're honored to have Octavia McIntosh. Welcome to the show. Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you for enjoying us.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. So Octavia is a career strategist. She's a business consultant. She's a digital entrepreneur and she's an author. Right? We're gonna dive into this conversation with Octavia about her newly published book. Um, after years of actually leading a large-scale corporate recruitment in Jamaica, she turned inward. She decided to chart a new path out of burnout into freedom through her company, OM Consulting and Professional Development Solutions, and her powerful book, I'm out. She's out, guys, and we're excited to have Octavia. She now helps women and girls do the same. Exit survival mode, claim their worth, and design freedom-aligned lives.
SPEAKER_01:We are happy to have you, girl. How are you doing? I am well and I'm excited.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. We've been talking about you coming on on the podcast for a while, and I'm really happy to have you with me. Um, so tell me how how Jamaica. Is it hot? Like last night I was there, like I was burning out. What's going on?
SPEAKER_01:The summer is summering. It's it's extremely hot right now. Um, I had a prior engagement, so I'm dressed for that in a cool environment. So I'm wearing, you know, this colored um shirt, but it's really hot. Yeah, talk to me about one small joy that you've had this week. Well, one small joy that I had this week was one of my clients um who started a leadership role, and she sent me her day one photo and a screenshot of a feedback that she got based on the strategy that we discussed. So, you know, I just felt that look at my masterpiece. I'm so proud. I know.
SPEAKER_02:You know what? You do have a lot to be proud of. Because, you know, you and I had this discussion before you actually exited, right? You've been talking about this exit strategy for a while. Before we dive into I'm out, I want you to tell me um who was Octavia before the strategist, before the entrepreneurship, what actually shaped your early views on success and security?
SPEAKER_01:Well, before I'm out, I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I've always had this inclination to make money. Because I knew that, and I'm a I'm a church girl, you know, you have to have the power to be able to do things, and having that financial, you know, uh ability is what's gonna help you to do more. So from a long time, even when I was going to school, I sold lollipops, I made coconut drops, and I sold that at school. You know, so I I really had an entrepreneurial mindset and always had this can do it attitude, always thinking that, hey, you know, if it's up, if it's it's to be, it's up to me. So I always have to be doing something more.
SPEAKER_02:So you rose through the ranks of the BPO industry, right? Which is fast pace, high output. What drew you into this space initially, and how did you navigate your leadership in such a demanding environment?
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so I've spent my entire corporate career in the BPO space. So everything about me from a career perspective that is known by others' perspective, and for me, it's always been in the BPO space. But my leadership journey began when I transitioned from being an individual contributor as a recruiter in a particular company, and I transitioned to a manager role as a recruiting manager in another. And that is where my leadership journey actually began. In that prior role as a recruiter or talent acquisition specialist, I was an individual contributor. I went above and beyond. I was always trying to prove myself and you know, going above and beyond, doing exceptional. And I felt like I was sidelined, overlooked. I felt stuck after a while. And I had a conversation with my then um boss, and you know, it occurred to me that you know I might be in this role for a long time. And that's when I started to look out, and I landed a manager role without management experience, and that's where my leadership um style, you know, began to be honed. And for me, leadership has always been, you know, evolving. Yeah, I had to learn. It was a play it by air when I started, it was a learn as you go, and it came with a lot of mistakes. Yeah. Mistakes that I have now called lessons because without them, I wouldn't have been the leader I am today, the entrepreneur I am today. So it was a um learn as you go, learn from my mistakes, and you know, it wasn't linear, it's always evolved. But four things really contribute to my success. One is knowing myself. I had to know what are my strengths, my weaknesses, my opportunities, my threats and triggers, and be able to use that to navigate my capacity, what I kind of hold back on, where I really shine, and that really has helped me. That's the first thing. The second thing is really becoming self-aware, which stems from that, Altricia, because you know, this is impacting how I am landing for others. This is impacting how others experience me, and I've had to learn how to regulate how I come across others. That's too. And the third thing is understanding people, which is the biggest, really, because leadership is a people business as much as it is moving the needle and the bottom line. Yeah, absolutely. Right, and so managing relationships, people in all capacity, those who I report to, those who report to me, internal and external stakeholders, you know, how do they listen? How do they hear? Understanding them and know how I show up in order to be effective in you know in our relationship.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And the last, oh, go ahead.
SPEAKER_02:No, no, no, no, no. So as you were like navigating all of that and you're putting all of these pillars into place, or you're practicing, you know, these pillars that you hold dear to you, um, were there any moments, you know, in all of that, you know, where you felt conflicted between professional achievement and personal peace? Because you talk about, you know, having to navigate growing in the corporate space.
SPEAKER_01:Right. Many times, but especially in the two years before I transitioned to entrepreneurship. You know, because when I started out, I was bubbly, I was passionate, and you know, and as I navigated leadership, there were those low moments where the mistake was a learning experience, but it was hot, it was harsh, it wasn't easy, it was ugly. And there are times when I felt like I'm, you know, who am I really? And that is really doing continuous self-audit. Am I showing up as my true self? Am I sticking to my core values in this ask or this request? You know? Um, and and and it goes back to being able to, you know, manage who you are and being self-aware without losing who you are at your core and your core values. So I've had those.
SPEAKER_02:So what is what is it? Um was there a particular like moment for you, right? Or particular burnout experience that made you say, I'm out. Like this life actually no longer fits me.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. Uh, I like that term, you know, the I'm out moment for me, it was in the making for about two years prior to me being out.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I remember slowly losing my spark and that fire that I had when I started just going through the motions and not feeling like I want to show up or I want to go. I remember audibly, you know, it's like I heard Octavia, is is it time?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Is your time up? And you know, I I pushed through day after day, pushing myself to go in, especially when it became mandatory to be in office and we could no longer work from home. So I it was really hard for me during those times because I had to be forcing myself and I'm leading a large team, and so I had to put on my game face when I was there, but I had to be pushing and shoving myself to really be there, and I knew I could not continue along that path because it didn't feel good, it didn't look good.
SPEAKER_02:I know. You know, I remember um visiting your home like in December, maybe right before you were out, actually, and you you talked about this that you were trying to really understand why you were feeling so burnt out and that you were preparing yourself to be out. So I'm super proud of you for understanding your mind, your own healing, and your own body, and you decide like it was time to be out, and you know, let's talk about the book. I'm out. So um the you recently published a book, um, you know, I'm out, right? I when I read this book, it's I found that the book is part roadmap, it was part of rallying cry for you. And I would love for you to share with our listeners the core pillars of that blueprint for walking away with clarity and confidence.
SPEAKER_01:You know, it's it's so dear to my heart because I always wanted to write a book, and that was never the book, the first book for me. And it was after I got out, it was after what it took to get out. I I look back and I said to myself, you know, there are other women like me who would need a roadmap who have been where I was. And when I was there, I really didn't have a roadmap. I didn't have something like this. And so for me, um, I'm out is about taking control and ownership of your life, yeah. And no longer being the passenger in your own life.
SPEAKER_02:It's like no longer being a passenger in your own life. That's like a roadmap, though. You created the roadmap for someone to drive their own car, right? The car of their life. And you talk about in the book, I I remember certainly freedom-aligned businesses and freedom, you know. What does that mean for you personally, Octavia? Because listen, I'm excited, you know. I'm excited about a book. I'm a I'm excited about this diligent, like you did an audit of your own life and you were able to create this roadmap for people. It's almost like, wow, you know, talk to me about what freedom-aligned business is. What does that mean for you personally?
SPEAKER_01:In a nutshell, it means I no longer get paid or get income based on how much effort and time I can put in. I want to be able to have something sustainable that provides me financial stability and independence even when I'm not able to show up. Because otherwise I feel like I'm still at work having to show up even when I don't feel well or needing permission to take time off.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And personally, personally, that's what it is for me. And I really talk about that a lot because I've had to, you know, have moments where I felt uncomfortable being sick because the work, the job needed me, and it felt like I was betraying them by not showing up or calling out. And I didn't want that to be the case in a business where if I was not there, I didn't earn.
SPEAKER_02:And hasn't that been like how it's been for women in the workspace though, all along? Like, and I mean it's everywhere.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, it is. I mean, that's the order of the day, and this is why, you know, this is a long-term thing. This will become a legacy because it's really teaching persons to unlearn what they've always known. Mm-hmm. This is it. This is how people know how you make a living.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. You know what? I love that you have chosen not to gatekeep this information, right? You are not a gatekeeper of this roadmap. Um, so you know, from the many of the women that you actually serve are like ambitious, but they're actually stuck. Like, I was stuck for a while. Um, and just reading through your book, uh, I was like, huh? I kept saying, aha. Yeah, that makes sense, right? Um, the women that you are actually serving now, um, they're stuck, they're battling fear, they're guilty, they have imposter syndrome. What are some of the mindset shifts that you believe are non-negotiables for their healing and their growth and for saying I'm out?
SPEAKER_01:A mindset shift is really understanding that nothing will change if nothing changes.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:For things to change, there has to be a change. And if you're not open to doing something differently, something that you've never done before, you will not have something that you never had before. You'll continue having what you've always had, which is something you don't like.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. And I think that can lead to an effective career change, too, right? Um, but these career chains are not usually just strategic, they're like really emotional. Because it's very hard for people to give up like their safety net because we were socialized to see a nine to five as our crutch, right? Yeah, of course. Yeah. So, what were some of the internal battles for you? Yeah, you talk about giving women a strategy to be able to say, I'm out. What were some of the internal battles that you had to work through as you redefine success for yourself?
SPEAKER_01:Had to and still and still have, because you know, you'll never be free from thoughts. You'll never you'll never be be free from you know um limiting beliefs. It's like it will try to land in your airport. It's like uh an airport that's happening there and it will try, but you don't give it clearance. Yeah, you don't take that, you know. So some of those were what if you it fails, failure.
SPEAKER_02:What if it fails?
SPEAKER_01:You know, what if what if what you're gonna do doesn't work? What if you you know you have to go back into the world of work? What if you can't afford to pay your mortgage? Yeah, what if you know, all of those what ifs, but what if it works? Yeah, what if it works? Oh, what if it you know it works so well that I'm so renowned for this, so that you know, people are looking for me for this. And it's really just trying to, as I said, like an airport, control and decide what thoughts you take and putting tools in place that you can use to manage those that will come because thoughts are always gonna come. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:You know, at the um, I I love what you what you said, like what if it works? And it's the same approach that I took with cake therapy, right? The cake therapy foundation. I'm I am saying that the kitchen is a healing space for everyone. But most of all, like we at Cake Therapy, we talk about how baking actually creates spaces to process emotion. And I I find that alignment that with for you, what practices help you to actually center, like breathe and move forward during your transition. I'm in the kitchen, right? I'm I'm an entrepreneur, I I I I manage my own brand, I do my own thing. How how and it's scary, it's it's scary, Octavia, to leave the security of a nine to five, or telling people I'm out, like you've gotten out, I've gotten out, but what is what it is, like the scary part that's behind the scene, what has helped you to center yourself and you know and move forward and standing firmly in your decision to be out?
SPEAKER_01:You know, that's a very good question. Because, as I said, it happens and it continues to happen, and so it's good to have a center. What or who is your center? And for me, God is my center. And even in times when I have felt like God isn't there or wasn't there for me, I always come full circle to realizing and acknowledging and identifying and proving that he's always there and he's active if I tap into him. So when things get really hard, and I I can know, I remember when I started um going live on um social media before I launched the book. I had a first book. So I'm a two-time author, but it was just an easy book, the first version, and I was so excited about that, and I kept pushing it, and I remember feeling like these people need to get this, these people need to get this, and I felt like I was chasing and I caught myself and I had to stop. I don't do I didn't do live again for a while, and I took a step back and I went and I hugged a tree in my backyard. And the tree foot. I hugged the tree and I sat under there. You know, it was very windy, it's very breezy where I am. And one of the things I've been able to do more is to really connect with nature. Not having to go to the office. Being able to just be. So I took a step back and I didn't, you know, go live. I didn't try to promote. I didn't try to market. I just sat in silence. Under the tree, and I just was just being. Yeah. And you find in those moments of being, and when you try to quiet your mind, is when things start to, you know, it's like you hear conversations about hey, when I do those audits, what was happening right there? You were in survival mode. You still have remnants of survival mode, Octavia. When you are calm and when you don't chase, then the things that are meant for you, they flow to you. You don't have to struggle. And so I take the time to make sure that I do things that cause me to feel free, whether it's to go to the beach, hug the tree, sit and enjoy the wind in silence and play with my dogs. And it's in those moments when I am not consciously actively doing and just being, that the magic happens and things flow better. I get more sales, I get more consultations when I am not in survival mode. So every single day I have to consciously make a conscious effort to not think about chasing, to think abundance, abundance and know that whatever it is that's meant for me flows to me when I'm in this state of calm. I also color. So I play with my dogs, I have a coloring book that I started using, and it really helps me, you know, to just relax and not think about the doing.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. So let me ask you something. Like the women who you consult with or you're working right now, often they are carrying like the weight of expectations, right? From their family, communities, um, or even just a weight for themselves. And you talk about the importance of finding their center. How do you help them, you know, to give themselves permission to choose more? Or to help, how do you help them find their center?
SPEAKER_01:Really, they first have to find what they have been an autopilot. What what what is the center that has been in operation all this time? Understanding the decisions and the responses or the reactions that happen as a result of having that autopilot center in operation. And then from there suggesting or showing them other, you know, pathways and allowing them to see themselves in other pathways and which one aligns with them. Because at the end of the day, it's what works, you know, what works best for you. But sometimes we need that, you know, that push or an example because sometimes you cannot connect with what you've never experienced before. Yeah. And so I share my story, I share what situations I've been in and how what you know God has helped me, or how just being connected with a supreme being has helped me and how the Bible has helped me, and even people who are non-believers can can relate and even, you know, be able to use that as a tool.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. For the female listeners that we have here on the Cake Therapy Podcast, um, and if if there's one or two who is currently feeling stuck in a job that's actually draining her soul, what's the first small doable step that she can actually take today?
SPEAKER_01:Immediately, mentally, you can take a break mentally. And what do I mean by take a break mentally? I used to watch this feature where we would go on um a 60-second vacation. They'll show you different spots in the world really quickly, and you just go there. And I think that can help in um, you know, vision boarding, but really to take a step back mentally, if it means to take um a long walk or somewhere if you're in the busy environment or if you can take the day off, to just detach somewhat mentally, and what I mentioned earlier about just a state of being present with yourself and nothing else. And I think it's a form of grounding. And if you do that maybe near water body or you know, by a tree under a tree where you know it's windy, it really helps to clear your mind, and then you start looking at yourself as if watching your life on a movie. Yeah. And I find when I do that, it's like when I would watch movies and I would say, girl, don't do that. Oh no, no, you don't you see what he's doing? No. So it's like you're now stepping out of yourself to really come into the answers that you really need in that moment.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, in that moment.
SPEAKER_01:If we can take that mental break, whether it's physically taking some time off and detaching, I have when I take those time offs, I exit groups. I'm in leadership groups, I'm in my team groups, I exit. I'm not muting, I come out to the group because my autopilot pilot will um you know have me go back to check in or check emails, I uninstall my outlook. Wow, that sounds drastic.
SPEAKER_02:That's that sounds drastic. But what she's put my saying, like you have to really detach yourself from it. If it gets too overwhelming, take take away yourself. Like that's a popular Jamaican thing. Take away yourself, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Take away yourself simply means I'm out. Exactly. Because if when you do that, one of the things that's gonna come up is if I'm not around to do all of these things that overwhelm me, what will happen to the business? Will they shut down? Will they spiral, you know? And it's usually no.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's it definitely is always no. Not usually. Always no business has to go on. Yes, it's business as usual. If you're not there or if you're not fully functional and if you're not healthy, the business goes on. It goes on, the band match is on. So tell me a little bit more, um, Octavia, about like what's next for Owen Consulting? Or do you have like new projects on your horizon? Share with me what's up.
SPEAKER_01:So my long-term vision for this, and I call it a movement. You know, it's a part of you know, financial literacy and to really be a legacy, a household name, a brand, a blueprint, the I'm out blueprint, kind of like how we associate uh rich dad, poor dad with um foundational financial literacy. That's how I see the I'm out movement. I currently have um a mini course that's in the making. I have um a community of you know of like-minded women. And so there's the book, and it's really an ecosystem. You you get into the book and you get the toolkit that helps you with the mindset reset, that helps you with the grounding, that helps you to dream again, you know, to help you with really seeing yourself bigger and who you really were meant to be. Yeah, and and what I'm really teaching is not because people are gonna be uncomfortable with just leaving, and I'm not promoting quit your job, you know, it's not a quit your job campaign, it's to strategically create um a plan and a safety net while still employed, so that the transition can be easier. Because when you prove yourself, when you have that other, you know, um business that's operating while you are still working and you see where that can become passive and you've tested it, it's much easier to make that shift. Yeah, and so the I'm out movement will have multiple facets, starting with the now have the toolkit and the the community, and the course is gonna land by the end of the month.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, she has a course, y'all, and I'm really excited about it. You've made a move, you've made the move, um, Octavia, for yourself, and you're doing well. Um, you're serving women in the community. I would love for you, like right now, in your season or in this season of your life, how how do you now define your freedom? How do you define freedom for you in this new season of your life?
SPEAKER_01:Freedom for me is being able to do whatever it is I feel, I feel led on any given day to teach. And that has not always been the case, and that's freedom for me. So if it means that I just spend the entire day and I love my dogs, and they have to come up with my conversations, is to spend the entire day playing with my dogs, then that's freedom for me. If freedom for me means to spend the weekend in on a resort, then that's freedom for me. And if freedom for me means I want to plug in for two days on a business, you know, um, retreat with upcoming entrepreneurs and women in corporate, then I can do that too. Yeah, and so the freedom to be able to choose to do whatever it is that rests on your heart to do.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, freedom for her is whatever. Whatever is rest on her heart to do. And she doesn't have to answer to a boss because she's her own boss. She's a boss base. You just ask permission, she says. Um, Octavia, I'm I'm really excited to talk to you. We continue to have these conversations, but I want to especially thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. I your story to me is a reminder that we don't have to stay in survival mode, that we can choose purpose, peace, and power. But before we end, I would love for you to um share with our listeners how to find you and find your work or grab a copy of your book, I'm out.
SPEAKER_01:All right, so my book is on Amazon. Um, so once you type I'm out, Octavia Macintosh, or I'm out, replace your salary and exit, you'll be able to access my book on Amazon. Additionally, you can find me by my name on Instagram at I am Octavia Macintosh, and there's a link that takes you to all my resources. Is it is that link a link tree, um, Octavia? It is a link tree that will take you to all my resources.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, perfect. You know, listeners, I want to thank you for listening us and joining us as usual. I want you to keep subscribing, leaving your comments and share. And I especially want you to go and check out Octavia's work. Follow her on TikTok. She's on there all the time with a lot of inspiration. Um, and get her book, I'm out. So let's end with a mindful breathe and breath together. Um, in Octavia's story, we're reminded that clarity is an act of self-love, and that we can bake up new versions of ourselves when we give ourselves permission to dream again. To you, our listeners, I want to thank you again for tuning in. Don't forget to subscribe, like leave a review, come on, guys, interact and you know, and share the work as you see fit, um, and share with someone else. You know, these episodes are important, and people need to hear from Octavia. So go ahead and just share. Share the episode with someone who will need it. Um, so until next time, I want to I want you all to stay listening, stay connected, and especially stay sweet. This has been Octavia Macintosh on the Cake Therapy Podcast. Thank you for listening and thank you for joining us. Thank you for coming, Octavia.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you for having me, El Tricia. Thank you for tuning in to the Cake Therapy Podcast. Your support means the world to us. Let us know what you thought about today's episode in the comment section. Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcast. And if you found the conversation helpful, please share it with a friend. Also follow Sugarspoon Desserts on all social media platforms. We invite you to support Cake Therapy and the work we do with our foundation by clicking on the Buy Me a Coffee link in the description. Or by visiting the Cake Therapy website and making a donation. All your support will go towards the Cake Therapy Foundation and the work we are doing to help women and girls. Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll catch you on the next episode.