Welcome to A Category of One: deep, honest conversations with entrepreneurs about how we show up as the truest version of ourselves, both personally and professionally. I’m Leslie Silverman, brand strategist and curious human, and this podcast was born from one belief: when we let our light shine, we give others permission to do the same. Each week, I sit down with founders, creatives, and business leaders to explore identity, ambition, doubt, reinvention, and the uncomfortable growth no one talks about. We go beyond tactics and into: -Authentic leadership -Building a brand aligned with who you are -The inner work behind outer success -Navigating ambition without losing yourself -Becoming a category of one, not by trying to stand out, but by telling the truth If you care about meaningful work and living in alignment with who you actually are, you’re in the right place. New episodes every Wednesd
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A Category of One is a business podcast hosted by Leslie Silverman, with 24 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.
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Leslie Silverman hosts A Category of One, a business show with 24 episodes published.
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Episode #24
How to Decide If a Move Is Really the Answer with Mariette Frey
Aug 19, 202635 minS1
Mariette Frey has moved 20 times in 24 years. She built a framework out of it, not because moving got easier, but because she kept relearning the same lessons. This conversation is about the difference between a move that solves something and a move that just relocates the problem. Mariette walks through her FRED framework (finances, robustness, ecosystem, dreams) and the question she asks every client before anything else: is this a relief move, or is this the only way to get somewhere you actually want to be. She talks about the client who did a "city bake-off," spending a month living in the city he thought he wanted to move to, only to come back realizing he missed his grocery store more than he wanted a new life. We get into the 6 month funk that hits after almost every relocation, the emotional and financial toll of a cross country move, and the difference between choosing a new life and running from an old one. On A Category of One, I sat down with Mariette to talk about what it actually takes to know if you're ready for a big change, and what it costs when you move before you're ready. In this episode: The FRED framework and how to know if a move will actually solve anything Why "relief moves" so often become the wrong decision The 6 month funk that follows almost every relocation How to build community and support before you arrive somewhere new What it means to reparent the parts of you that want to stay Connect with Mariette Frey: Website: https://movingforsmarties.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/mariettesonthemove LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariettefrey/ YT: https://www.youtube.com/ @Movingforsmarties Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2umVkjMDtrA6xfxmYn3oPD?si=84d5d2edad374b68 Connect with Leslie Silverman: IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman YT: https://www.youtube.com/@lesliesilvermanofficial Website: https://lesliesilverman.com Chapters: 01:48 The Fred Framework 04:05 The evolution of Mariette's moving journey 05:39 The Fred framework for smart moves 08:15 Common moving scams and how to avoid them 11:55 The emotional impact of moving and the six-month funk 15:10 Using parts work to understand your moving motivations 18:35 The importance of intentional decision-making 22:46 Building community before moving 27:28 The role of self-coaching and reflection 32:01 Practical experiments to test readiness
How to Nurture a Business Through Every Stage of Growth with Heather Roberts
Aug 12, 202639 minS1
Heather Roberts didn't set out to write a book. She started a Substack because she needed somewhere to put twenty years of lessons, and what came out was The Nurture Method, a framework built on something she noticed almost by accident: business and parenting run on the same clock. Infancy. School age. Adolescence. And eventually, the moment you have to decide whether to let go. This conversation moves through a business built out of an accidental wrong number, a decorative pillow company that succeeded and nearly broke her, and the decision to work herself out of the CEO role she'd held for twenty years. Along the way, Heather talks about her 72 hour rule for testing big ideas, what she calls "bright and shiny syndrome," and why she stopped trying to build a business the way she was taught a business was supposed to look. In this episode: Why Heather compares scaling a business to watching your kid learn to drive The 72 hour rule she uses before acting on any big idea What "bright and shiny syndrome" is and how it derails good businesses Why she spent a year working herself out of her own company How getting banned from Amazon became one of her favorite stories What it means to build a business into your life instead of around it Connect with Heather Roberts: https://www.instagram.com/sonowwhatyall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/heathersroberts/ https://www.tiktok.com/@sowhatnowyall https://www.facebook.com/heatherslosson.roberts www.nowwhatyall.com https://heatherroberts.life/ https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-nurture-method-heather-roberts/1149899363?ean=9798895762035 Connect with Leslie Silverman: IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman Website: https://lesliesilverman.com Chapters: 00:41 The Nurture Method: Balancing Business and Family Life 01:38 Introduction and Heather's Background 05:44 The Accidental Phone Call That Changed Everything 09:07 Trusting the Process and Divine Timing 11:24 The Four Stages of Entrepreneurial Growth 16:23 Showing Up Authentically in Business and Life 20:00 The Power of Vulnerability and Sharing Failures 24:39 Balancing Family and Business: A Personal Perspective 29:25 Following Your Intuition and Exploring New Passions 34:41 The Story Behind The Nurture Method and Book Ban 37:40 Heather's Approach to Authenticity and Success
How to Rebuild Your Identity When Your Story Falls Apart with Quinn Harwood
Aug 5, 202631 minS1
In this episode, I sat down with Quinn "Coach Q" Harwood, a credentialed coach and author of Growth Time. This conversation started with a book about identity and ended up somewhere more personal, about what happens when the story you were building your life around stops working. Q talks openly about the year everything fell apart. A corporate layoff. A company that went under. A divorce. All in the same stretch of life. What he found on the other side wasn't a tidier story, but a different anchor entirely, one built on identity instead of outcome. We get into something not talked about enough: the real difference between coaching, therapy, and consulting, and how to know which one you actually need. Q breaks it down in a way that really made it click for me. In this episode: What it means to lose your identity to your own performance Why painful seasons can reveal growth gaps we didn't know existed The real difference between coaching, therapy, and consulting How authenticity is tied to the strength of your voice What it looks like to rebuild a vision after a dream doesn't pan out Why individuality still matters inside community and team Connect with Coach Q: FB: https://www.facebook.com/CoachQharwood LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quinn-harwood-455517108/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/coachq44/ YT: https://www.youtube.com/@coachQ44 Website: CoachQharwood.com Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/GrowthTime-Coaching-Fable-Unlock-Leadership/dp/B0F1G8ZZ9X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0 Connect with Leslie Silverman: IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman Website: https://lesliesilverman.com Branding Agency: https://hive180.com Chapters: 00:32 Coach Q's background, mission, and the story behind Growth Time 02:07 His journey through pain, purpose, and hard-won wisdom 06:32 Sports injuries, identity, and finding an anchor beyond performance 10:09 Clarity of purpose, and who Coach Q works with 12:04 EOS and business coaching, explained 13:32 Where personal and professional identity meet 14:59 The journey to authenticity and finding your voice 16:31 Individuality, community, and trusting your intuition 19:51 Coach Q's coaching process, from assessment to results 22:23 Coaching vs. therapy vs. consulting, and what credentials mean
How to Use a Magician's Framework to Build AI Visibility with Jimi Gibson
Jul 29, 202642 minS1
In this episode of A Category of One, I sat down with Jimi Gibson, VP of Brand Communication at Thrive Internet Marketing Agency and author of Uninvisible. Jimi spent the first part of his career as a professional magician, performing at venues including the MGM Grand, before moving into digital marketing. That background shows up in everything he does now. We get into why personal visibility has become one of the clearest ROI drivers a business owner has right now, backed by Jimi's own research studying 400 companies across five industries. He breaks down how AI models actually pull information, using an analogy involving pizza dough and toppings that makes the whole process click in a way I haven't heard before. Jimi also walks through what he calls the magic script, a communication framework built on the same structure magicians use to create connection, curiosity, and closure. It's not about tricks. It's about understanding how attention actually works, and why playing it safe is the fastest way to disappear. In this episode: Why AI visibility works differently than traditional SEO The pizza dough and toppings analogy for how AI models retrieve information What E-E-A-T means and why it matters more than ever The magic script framework for structuring communication Why becoming an "intrapreneur" builds value even inside someone else's company The case for writing a book as a visibility and authority tool Connect with Jimi Gibson: Website: https://thriveagency.com/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimi-gibson/ Full research report: https://businessvisibilityindex.com Connect with Leslie Silverman: IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman Website: https://lesliesilverman.com Hive180 Branding Agency: https://hive180.com Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Jimi Gibson and His Book 01:45 Challenges in Publishing and Visibility 04:19 The Journey to Authority Building 07:31 The Importance of Personal Branding 11:11 AI's Role in Visibility and Differentiation 16:04 The Pizzeria Effect and AI's Functionality 22:10 The Magic of Communication and Curiosity 28:45 Applying Magic Principles to Marketing 33:35 Final Thoughts on Authority and Visibility
How to Build Emotional Safety in Relationships with Erin Berry Bliss
Jul 22, 202634 minS1
In this episode of A Category of One, I sat down with Erin Berry Bliss, a relationship and intimacy coach and the creator of the Secure Love Soul Method. We started talking about emotional safety, and it turned into a much longer conversation about how we relate to ourselves first. Erin's work is body-based. She believes lasting change in relationship happens at the nervous system level, not just through insight or mindset. We got into what it actually means to feel safe with another person, physically, emotionally, mentally, energetically, and how easy it is to confuse a quiet relationship with a safe one. We also talked about the parts of this work that don't come up enough. What chemistry actually is, and what your body is telling you about it. Why it's gotten harder to stay authentically yourself online. And why curiosity, not certainty, is what actually closes the gap between men and women. In this episode: What emotional safety actually means, and why most people miss it How the nervous system shapes our patterns in relationship The difference between getting back a connection and trying to create one that was never there Why self-acceptance has to come before someone else can meet you fully How curiosity closes the gap between men and women instead of certainty What it means to stay authentically yourself in a saturated online space Connect with Erin Berry: IG: https://www.instagram.com/erinberrybliss/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/eberryblissful Website: https://www.erinberrybliss.com/ Connect with Leslie Silverman: IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman Website: https://lesliesilverman.com Hive180 Branding Agency: https://hive180.com Chapters: 01:16 Introduction to Erin Berry and Her Work 03:19 The Secure Love Soul Method Explained 03:32 Introduction and Personal Connection 04:43 Erin's Journey to Relationship Coaching 06:43 The Importance of Self-Understanding in Relationships 10:55 Navigating the Modern Relationship Landscape 14:30 The Role of Emotional Safety in Intimacy 19:26 Understanding Intimacy and Authenticity 22:20 The Interplay of Masculine and Feminine Energies 25:39 Human Design and Personal Growth 28:46 Upcoming Retreats and Community Connection 33:26 Engagement and Closing Thoughts
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