You're working 60 hours a week, making good money, clients love you—but you're exhausted. If that sounds familiar, this episode is for you.

In "From Solo to Team: Making Your First Hire Without Losing Your Mind," we're talking about that terrifying, exhilarating leap from doing everything yourself to actually trusting someone else with your business.
Here's what we cover:
→Why hiring for your weaknesses (not just your overflow) changes everything
→The real cost of "no one will do it as well as I do"—and why it's the grandest illusion in entrepreneurship
→How to start small without hiring from desperation (spoiler: contractors and project-based help count as "team")
→The emotional transition of stepping into the CEO seat—and why you might grieve the doer role
→What it actually means to be a boss when you've had terrible bosses yourself

The big permission piece: Team doesn't mean 30 employees. It can mean one person for five hours a week. And before you can delegate anything, you need to document it first. Because 80% done by someone else beats 100% done by you at 2 a.m. every single time.

00:00 From Solopreneur to Team Player
02:48 The Importance of Hiring for Strengths
08:44 Trust and Communication in Hiring
12:55 Establishing Processes for Team Success
17:16 Hiring at the Right Time
19:04 Navigating Difficult Conversations
19:36 Setting New Hires Up for Success
22:15 The Importance of Feedback and Growth
23:00 Embracing the CEO Identity
26:03 Preparing for Growth and Change
27:43 Establishing Processes for Team Expansion
30:20 Letting Go and Embracing New Roles
32:03 Redefining Leadership and Responsibility
34:32 Intentions Behind Hiring
36:25 The Emotional Journey of Transitioning
38:26 Honest Brew - BG_3.mp4
#HonestBrew #SmallBusinessPodcast #EntrepreneurPodcast #BusinessGrowth #Solopreneur #TeamBuilding #LetGoOfControl #SmallBusinessOwner #Delegation #TrustIssues #CEOMindset #Leadership #WomenInBusiness #EntrepreneurLife #BusinessCoach #SmallBizLife #ScalingBusiness #WorkLifeBalance #BusinessStrategy

#AIEthics #SmallBusinessGrowth #HonestBrewPodcast #SolopreneurLife

A candid conversation between three seasoned business women who've been in the trenches of entrepreneurship. We bridge the gap between the glamorous just market and sell advice and the reality of what it takes to build a sustainable business. While most business content focuses on marketing, branding, OR operations in isolation, we bring all three worlds together. Because your brand culture needs to live in every system you create, your operations need to support your brand promise, and your marketing needs the infrastructure to deliver on what it sells.

We're here for the solopreneurs ready to grow beyond themselves, the partnership survivors rebuilding stronger, and anyone tired of business advice that treats branding, marketing, and operations as separate planets when they're part of one ecosystem.

HOSTS

Cheale Villa, Visual Caffeine, visualcaffeine.com / Monique Johnson, MoJo Design, ...

You're not alone. In this week's episode, "Already Behind? The Truth About Q1 Overwhelm," we're talking about what happens when all that December planning meets January reality—and reality wins.

Here's what we cover:

• Why stopping and assessing beats panic-pivoting every time
• The frameworks we actually use when overwhelm hits (visual buckets, priority matrices, feeling-based check-ins)
• How to break down goals that feel impossible into micro-steps you can actually complete
• The buffer rule that life-proofs your business (add 25-50% time to everything)

The big permission piece: If January isn't going how you planned, it doesn't mean you're failing. It means your December goals might need to meet your current reality. And that's completely normal.

A candid conversation between three seasoned business women who've been in the trenches of entrepreneurship. We bridge the gap between the glamorous just market and sell advice and the reality of what it takes to build a sustainable business. While most business content focuses on marketing, branding, OR operations in isolation, we bring all three worlds together. Because your brand culture needs to live in every system you create, your operations need to support your brand promise, and your marketing needs the infrastructure to deliver on what it sells.

We're here for the solopreneurs ready to grow beyond themselves, the partnership survivors rebuilding stronger, and anyone tired of business advice that treats branding, marketing, and operations as separate planets when they're part of one ecosystem.

HOSTS

Cheale Villa, Visual Caffeine, visualcaffeine.com / Monique Johnson, MoJo Design, ...

We mentioned two free downloads:

Soul Check Questions - Your ethical compass for AI use
AI Getting Started Guide - Platforms, prompts, and how to actually begin

GRAB THOSE ON OUR WEBSITE: HonestBrew.co
+++
Are you caught between AI guilt and survival fear? You're not alone. This episode tackles the question every solopreneur is wrestling with: can you use AI ethically AND stay competitive?

Sara, Cheale, and Monique examine AI through their Triangle Framework, exploring how it impacts your brand authenticity, marketing efficiency, and operational systems. They share the platforms they actually use, the ethical boundaries they maintain, and why the real competitive advantage isn't the AI itself.

You'll learn when AI enhances your business versus when it erodes client trust, how to prompt AI effectively without losing your voice, and the "Soul Check" questions that keep you in the ethical zone. Plus: why human creativity remains irreplaceable, how to start with low-risk AI experiments, and the truth about whether you'll go out of business without it.

If you're AI-curious but ethics-conscious, this conversation bridges the gap between efficiency and authenticity—showing you how to use AI as a tool that amplifies your humanity rather than replaces it.

YOUR HOSTS
Sara Bradley, Indigo Elephant
Website: indigoelephant.co
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/indigoele...
Discovery call: https://designwithmojo.com/contact-mojo

Monique Johnson, MoJo Design
Website: https://designwithmojo.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mojodesign
Discovery call: https://designwithmojo.com/contact-mojo

Cheale Villa, Visual Caffeine
Website: visualcaffeine.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/visual-ca...
Discovery call: https://calendly.com/chealevilla/discovery

#AIEthics #SmallBusinessGrowth #HonestBrewPodcast #SolopreneurLife

A candid conversation between three seasoned business women who've been in the trenches of entrepreneurship. We bridge the gap between the glamorous just market and sell advice and the reality of what it takes to build a sustainable business. While most business content focuses on marketing, branding, OR operations in isolation, we bring all three worlds together. Because your brand culture needs to live in every system you create, your operations need to support your brand promise, and your marketing needs the infrastructure to deliver on what it sells.

We're here for the solopreneurs ready to grow beyond themselves, the partnership survivors rebuilding stronger, and anyone tired of business advice that treats branding, marketing, and operations as separate planets when they're part of one ecosystem.

HOSTS

Cheale Villa, Visual Caffeine, visualcaffeine.com / Monique Johnson, MoJo Design, ...