In this episode, Sara speaks with three women from a recent cohort of her Self CEO: Courtenay Mastain, Reise Tanner, and Anna Pell. They reflect on what changed for them while building businesses that are aligned with their inner lives, values, and spiritual orientation. The conversation explores the intersection of personal growth and entrepreneurship, including the role of inner work, community, and practical structure. It offers a behind-the-scenes perspective on what happens when women develop their work from a place of deeper internal congruence.
In this episode, we explore:
- What happens when women shift from forcing business strategies to building work that reflects their deeper values and identity
- How Internal Family Systems (IFS) work can support entrepreneurs who feel stuck between intuition and practical execution
- The idea of partnering with the “soul of the business” rather than carrying the full weight of responsibility alone
- The role of structure, systems, and strategy for spiritually oriented entrepreneurs
- How women in the program clarified their direction, including launching new ventures, programs, and creative work
Resources
Key takeaways
- A business can be approached as a vessel or stewarded entity rather than something that fully defines the person running it.
- Integrating inner psychological work with practical strategy can reduce internal conflict and increase clarity.
- Focusing on fewer priorities can create greater momentum and reduce overwhelm.
- Community containers can help entrepreneurs move ideas forward with accountability and support.
- Allowing work to evolve iteratively—rather than waiting for perfection—helps bring meaningful projects into the world.
Episode FAQs
What is meant by a soul-led business in this episode?
A soul-led business refers to work that reflects a person’s deeper values, spiritual orientation, and authentic identity. Instead of separating personal growth from business development, the two evolve together.
How does Internal Family Systems (IFS) relate to entrepreneurship?
IFS is used to understand the internal parts that influence behavior, including hesitation, ambition, creativity, or fear. When entrepreneurs understand these parts, they can lead their businesses with greater clarity and self-leadership.
Why do the participants talk about the “soul of the business”?
Several women describe a shift from feeling solely responsible for the business to seeing it as something they partner with. This perspective helps reduce pressure and frames the business as something that expresses a deeper purpose.
Who might find this perspective helpful?
This approach tends to resonate with coaches, therapists, creatives, and healing professionals who want their work to be sustainable while remaining aligned with their values and inner development.
What kinds of changes did participants experience during the program?
Participants describe clarifying the direction of their work, creating or refining programs, establishing clearer structures for their businesses, and developing a stronger sense of internal alignment.
Read the Full Transcript
Today I am joined by three women from the most recent cohort of her Self CEO: Courtenay, Reise, and Anna. We recorded this conversation near the end of our time together, and I invited them to share what their experience has been like inside the program and what has shifted for them internally and in their work.
Welcome. I’d love to start by having each of you introduce yourself and share a little about the work you’re doing now or stepping into. Courtenay, why don’t we start with you?
Courtenay:
I am a circle facilitator and a cycle awareness advocate. My work has grown organically from my own process of coming back to myself. During our time together, I’ve been transitioning from focusing primarily on teaching yoga to incorporating other aspects of my work.
It has come together under a new name that I’m sharing publicly for the first time: Circle Is Medicine. For me it captures the essence of what I offer—circles, cycles, and community. These are the things that have supported and healed me, and they are what I want to offer to others.
Sara:
Thank you. Reise, how about you?
Reise:
I’m in a period of transition. My previous business focused on birth work, education, and facilitating groups under the name Seed in the Garden. I’ve been gradually moving away from that and stepping into a new business called Myth Athea.
Through that work I’m curating programs that bring together story medicine and depth psychological coaching. I feel excited about this new chapter and about bringing it into form more quickly with the support of this program.
Sara:
And Anna?
Anna:
My medicine is horse wisdom. I spent forty years in the corporate sector as a change management consultant, and for about twenty years my business has been moving through cycles of development.
This year I’m stepping away from corporate work and committing fully to facilitating work with women in community alongside horses. Over the past two decades I’ve learned a great deal from the three horses who have been with me throughout that time. The work now feels like a re-emergence and a recalibration of who I am and how women can support one another in reconnecting with themselves.
Sara:
You all joined her Self CEO in the fall, and the day this episode airs is actually our closing circle. I’m curious what initially drew you to join.
Courtenay:
For me there were two main things. One was that the program was grounded in IFS. I’m relatively new to it, but what I had experienced spoke to me. I was interested in integrating parts work into my work in the world.
The other reason was that I had several projects happening at once—teaching yoga, a collaboration called Yes to Yourself around the self-marriage movement, and another project involving a mobile sauna. I was looking for support in bringing these pieces together and finding a through line.
The integration of inner work with the practical aspects of building a soul-led business was very appealing.
Reise:
I’m a visionary and creative person, and ideas come easily to me. What I struggle with more is structure—things like marketing systems and the practical steps of building something sustainable.
Many business courses I explored didn’t resonate with me. What drew me here was the balance of pragmatic business guidance with an understanding of soulful or spiritual work. The structure helped me move from having many ideas to having clearer systems that allow those ideas to take shape.
Anna:
For me it was also the combination of IFS and spirituality. I had done some introductory work with an IFS therapist in the UK before joining. At the same time, I felt a deep frustration with myself for spending years with one foot on the accelerator and one foot on the brake.
The idea of doing the internal work and the external business work within the same container felt significant. Listening to Sara’s podcast, I had a clear instinct that this was the right place.
Sara:
Looking back to when you first joined, did you have any resistance?
Courtenay:
Yes, particularly around the investment and around the identity of being a CEO. I’ve been self-employed for years and mostly figured things out on my own. The idea of investing in business development in that way felt unfamiliar.
At the same time, there was a part of me that knew the timing was right. Something I heard on one of your podcasts about integrating personal work with business work stayed with me.
Reise:
My hesitation was about joining another group program. I value group spaces, but they can also require a lot of time and energy.
What ultimately drew me in was the live aspect and the sense that we would move through the material together rather than simply consuming recordings. The group felt large enough to create energy but small enough to maintain intimacy.
Anna:
For me the decision came very quickly. I had been looking for something like this for many years. Once I saw the program and listened to several podcasts, I knew it was the right fit.
I also wanted to make sure the energy and timing were aligned. After speaking together briefly, I felt confident that this was the right step.
Sara:
What has been most surprising about the experience?
Anna:
One surprise has been the sense of connection across continents. There are cultural differences between the UK and North America, but the group shared a common intention around building soul-led businesses.
Another powerful moment for me happened during the exercise connecting with the higher self of the business. I realized that I wasn’t meant to carry the business alone. Instead, I was partnering with the deeper spirit of the work itself.
That realization lifted a great deal of pressure.
Courtenay:
I was surprised by the amount of practical support available. There are templates, documents, and tools that continue to reveal themselves even now.
At the same time, there was also a sense of unseen support—feeling like a steward of something that wants to come through rather than forcing it.
Reise:
One of the biggest shifts for me was seeing the business as something separate from my identity. As a solopreneur it’s easy to feel like the business is you.
Thinking of it as something I steward allows me to approach it more strategically while still staying connected to the deeper purpose of the work.
Another shift was recognizing that I can structure my business around my values rather than feeling that those values are in conflict with business practices.
Sara:
What are you most excited to deepen into as you move forward?
Courtenay:
I’m excited to continue developing Circle Is Medicine and to share more of my process publicly rather than waiting until everything feels finished.
Writing has also returned as an important part of my work, and I’m looking forward to exploring that again.
Reise:
I feel like I’m in the process of birthing Myth Athea. I now have a core signature program that serves as the foundation, with other offerings branching from it.
Having a clearer structure helps me move forward without feeling overwhelmed. I’m also allowing the work to evolve over time rather than waiting for everything to be perfect.
Anna:
I’m excited to bring the work with horses more fully into the world through workshops and gatherings with women. My deeper intention is to work from a place of flow rather than effort or over-analysis.
Reconnecting with my core self has helped me trust that process more fully.
Sara:
It has been a joy to witness each of you and to see the ways your work is taking shape. Thank you for sharing your experiences so generously with our wider community.
