The Hearth

Who says business success can't be an all-inclusive affair?

Join me and my guest, Erica Courdae, a seasoned DEI coach, consultant, and beauty industry veteran, as we take on the challenge of transforming established business models.

In this episode, we will discuss traditional ideologies and reimagine a more inclusive and equitable path to success.

Our episode will navigate the uncharted territori...

What if I told you that the conventional concept of workplace wellness is outdated and ineffective and that the responsibility of managing stress shouldn't solely rest on the shoulders of employees?

Perhaps the Job Strain Model is no longer suitable for the contemporary work environment due to evolving job demands, a diverse workforce, and the rapid advancement of technology. 

In this episode, we unpack the...

In today’s episode, we wrap up Season 1 and I share with you what to expect in Season 2.

Thank you so much for tuning in every week to listen to The Hearth.

If you want to stay connected with me on this short break, subscribe to my newsletter here:

https://www.fortressandflourish.com/newsletter

I’ll see you in Fall 2023!

If something you heard today brought a smile to your face or a spark to your heart, and...

In today’s episode, I chat with Darrie Ganzhorn about transitional employment.

Darrie Ganzhorn is Director of Programs and Operations for the Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, California.

The Homeless Garden Project provides sanctuary, refuge and meaningful work for homeless citizens within the healing environment of a three-acre organic farm in Santa Cruz, California. This unique urban garden and farm is inspired by t...

In today’s episode, I welcome Cyndie Lane.  Cyndie Lane is a psychotherapist specializing in Internal Family Systems, a relatively new and highly effective healing approach that is changing how psychotherapists work with and view their clients’ problems.  

In short, IFS seeks to help clients find compassion and curiosity for the parts of themselves that create suffering and havoc in their lives.  Fundamental to this modality is...

In today’s episode, we talk about navigating maternity leave as a small business owner.

CONTENT WARNING: I talk about abortion, childbirth, miscarriage, depression, anxiety, and postpartum.

My husband and I are having another baby in August, and I wanted to share my approach to maternity leave.

Here’s a sneak peek of the episode:

• I share my experience of not being well cared for within our traditional Western me...

In today’s episode, we talk about people-centered management at Lime Technologies with Tiffany Jones & Kat Lee.

People-centered management empowers employees to do their best work, clearly communicates the company’s goals, and shows them the path to success.

Moreover, employees remain a company’s most valuable asset.  Thus, it becomes increasingly important for businesses to treat their employees with respect and apprec...

In today’s episode we talk about hiring a group of people, 5 or more.

Perhaps you’re adding a new department to your company, or adding a new employee or two to an existing department. Perhaps you’re adding entry level team members, director level people, etc.

First and foremost, congrats on growing and expanding your business!

Here’s a sneak peek of the episode:

- Asking yourself “how do this new position I’m hirin...

In today’s episode, we talk about Resolving Conflict in the workplace.

Here’s a sneak peek of the episode:

Communication challenges:

1.  Between the business leader and an employee/team 
2. Between departments 
3. Between employees

-  The framework I use to understand what’s going on when there are communication challenges I need to help resolve.

1. We start with the person and their own psychological safety & own trauma.
2. In...

In today’s episode, we talk all about 1099’s & Employees:

• What makes an independent contractor an independent contractor.
• What makes an employee an employee.
• The Borello test
• How I can help you figure out if your employee is a true employee or just a 1099 independent contractor.
• How I can help you hire your first employee or independent contractor.

Links Mentioned:

https://calendly.com/fortressandflourish/hr-st...

In today’s episode we talk all about raises.

Here’s an episode sneak peek:

• Giving raises
• Things I discuss with my clients when they’re thinking about giving raises
• How I conduct “benchmarking” for my clients
• The tools I use when assessing the job market to help you create your raise
  • Indeed
  • The Economic Research Institute’s Salary Assessor
• MIT’s Living Wage Data
• If you have a budget and have a set amount for raise...

In today’s episode, we are doing a behind-the-scenes on my new offering, Let’s Lead Together.

Let’s Lead Together is an annual membership for business and non-profit leaders with up to 40 employees that helps you:

• Offload the time-consuming and repetitive HR responsibilities that keep you from focusing on the things that only YOU can do
• Gives you the structural Organizational Development and Human Resources support to ge...

• Why Maris wants to help others connect with the spirit world and the...

In today’s episode, I share my story with you.

I planned for this episode to be the first episode of The Hearth but felt a pull in a different direction.  13 episodes in, and here it is.

I hope you enjoy my story.

Links Mentioned:

 Guide to Doing Work Differently

This show has been created for you, and we want to hear from you. Tell me how you are challenged, how you are inspired, and the kinds of conversat...

In today’s epsiode I welcome my friend and client Kara Meyberg Guzman to talk about her experience being the co-owner & CEO of Santa Cruz Local, a local news organization that serves my city, Santa Cruz, California.

In this episode we talk about:

• How Kara became the CEO of Santa Cruz Local.
• The challenges she faced building a news organization.
• Policies she and her team have implemented to create a sustainable workplace allowin...

This episode is part two of how today’s modern world of work came to be.

In part one, Episode 9, we explored the transition from the Roman Empire through to Feudalism, the development of Capitalism, and the industrialization of work.

Today we will dive into the 1800s through to the age of technology.

We’ll cover laws specific to the United States, specifically laws that increase the rights of the worker while limiting the abuses and p...

On today's episode, Natalie Ross, Co-Founder and Podcast Hostess of Earth Speak, shares with us how she’s able to help her clients market themselves in a way that is authentic to who they are.

Natalie is a trauma-informed marketing consultant who left her science background to instead, explore nature, intuition, and spirit.  

Here’s a taste of our conversation:

• How Natalie came to marketing as her career
• Money trauma
• The best i...

The world of work has lots of expectations and rules: the way people behave, the way we dress, the amount of time we work and not work, our capacity for handling stress, these are all often unspoken and unexamined assumptions about the way that work "should be".

We expect all people, regardless of their personal abilities, morals and capacity, to conform to these expectations. We do this to the extent where we force people...

Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson joins me today for a discussion about navigating fear with courage.  Shebreh recently ran for Santa Cruz County Supervisor and experienced a very tough race.  She shares openly and honestly about her experience, the things that spark her fire, and the things that she is going to leave behind.  Here's a taste of our discussion:

• The challenges of running for office
• Grounding in values through painful ...