The Self Made Life Podcast

Entrepreneurship comes with a lot of ups and downs. I‘m here to share my journey of pivoting, running and scaling a successful creative business from the ground up. I‘ll also share inspiring stories from my branding clients in different industries, and of course share my favourite tips of everything branding, productivity and mindset to leave you feeling inspired and not alone on this rollercoaster of a journey that entrepreneurship can be.

The Self Made Life Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Ashley Wyatt, with 93 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.

Ashley Wyatt hosts The Self Made Life Podcast, a business show with 93 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #95

  EP 93: SEO Isn't a One and Done. Here's What Actually Gets You Found on Google in 2026

  Jul 28, 202614 min

  You did the SEO audit. You filled in the meta descriptions. You felt good about it. And then not much changed. I want to clear up the biggest misconception about SEO today, because I think it's why so many service providers put in the work and feel like nothing happened. We talk about: The two layers of SEO, foundational and ongoing, and why most people stop at the first one Why Google trusts the business that's actively showing up over the one with a beautiful, untouched website What AI search means for your content strategy right now Whether blogging still works (spoiler: it's not dead, it's the long game) The four things that actually make SEO content work The simplest way to start if you've been avoiding this Listen, send this to the business owner friend who keeps saying they'll start blogging and never does, and come find me on Instagram @monarchdesignco or online at www.themonarchdesign.co . Ready to get your website actually working for you?

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  Episode #94

  EP 92: From Accidental Business to Booked-Out Shopify Studio with Heidi Ewert from Endswell Studio

  Jul 21, 20261 hour

  I've known Heidi for years, long before either of us were running the businesses we actually have today. We met building handmade businesses, lost touch a little, and reconnected once we were both deep in the world of creative entrepreneurship. Since then we've collaborated in both directions: she's brought me in for branding, I've brought her in for Shopify development. Most recently we worked together on a project for Libs Elliott , where I built the brand and Heidi turned it into one of the most detailed websites she's ever created. Heidi's the founder of Endswell Studio, and her origin story is one of my favorites. She built one Shopify website for a friend, went to bed, and woke up to 22 requests to build more. She wasn't trying to start a business. She just said yes to the next thing, and then the next. In this episode, we get into: Why Heidi's "accidental" business start is actually a pretty common entrepreneurial story What she'd tell her younger self about trusting her gut over doing what's expected Why we've never once felt competitive with each other, even working in overlapping spaces How a website functions as a 24/7 team member for product-based businesses specifically — automations, customer forms, and hosted courses included Real, unfiltered conversation about parenting through business ownership, including built-in village support, flexible hours, and knowing your own limits Heidi's most underrated business investment (it's cheap, it's easy, and most people skip it) This one's for you if you've ever wondered whether working alongside someone in your industry means competing with them. Spoiler: it doesn't have to. Find Heidi on Instagram @workswithendswell or at endswellstudio.com , and come hang out with me @monarchdesignco .

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  Episode #93

  EP 91: 5 Signs You've Outgrown Your Brand, Even If It's Not Embarrassing You Yet

  Jul 14, 202615 min

  That quiet feeling where your brand still "works," but you don't reach for it the way you used to? That's what this episode is about. I'm walking through five signs you've outgrown your brand, before it ever gets to the point of embarrassment. This is for service providers who are booked, respected, and doing great work, and still feel a strange friction they can't name. Inside this episode: The hesitation test: what it means when you pause before sending someone to your site Why mismatched touchpoints (Instagram, website, proposals, email) quietly cost you trust What happens when you raise your prices but your brand still reads like three years ago The difference between needing a refresh and needing a full rebrand My own experience stepping into more of myself after two babies and a postpartum fog Come find me on Instagram @monarchdesignco or over at themonarchdesign.co

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  Episode #92

  EP 90: AI Won't Replace You. It'll Force You to Become More You with Kelsey Kerslake

  Jul 7, 202642 min

  What if AI doesn't replace you, but forces you to become more you? That's the question at the center of this conversation with Kelsey Kerslake, CEO of The Align Business and creator of Sol, an AI coaching tool. Kelsey scaled a coaching business past seven figures, then had to step back from most of it after a rare immunodeficiency diagnosis. We talk about the grief of losing an identity built around a business, how she started using AI as a coach and emotional outlet during her hardest health season, and what it actually means to build something that doesn't rely on you having consistent energy every single day. Inside this episode: Using AI as a processing tool, not just a task manager The identity shift of stepping away from a business at its peak What Sol is, and how it's built differently than a general chatbot Why creative point of view becomes more valuable, not less, as AI advances Designing a business model around energy you don't always have 🎧 Listen now and find Kelsey on Instagram @kelseykerslake , or check out https://thealignedbusiness.com/become

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  Episode #91

  EP 89: The Placeholder Brand & Why It's Keeping You Stuck

  Jun 30, 202629 min

  You're good at what you do. You've been doing it long enough to prove it. But your calendar is full of the wrong people, and you keep saying yes because the alternative is scary. In this episode, I want to talk about something I see constantly with established service providers: the placeholder brand. The brand that got you here, that said "I'm a real business" just enough that people didn't think you were a scam. The one that's past its expiration date, but hasn't been replaced yet. I'm pulling from a real discovery call I had recently (with all the details changed, of course) to walk through exactly what this looks like, why it happens, and most importantly, what it actually takes to fix it. We talk about: What a placeholder brand is and how to know if you have one The gap between knowing who you're not for and being able to say who you are for Why a prettier website without strategy underneath it is just a prettier placeholder The order of operations that actually works: brand strategy → visual identity → website → SEO and content What SEO really means when it's built in properly (not just a box you check) The magic wand question I ask at the end of every discovery call — and what it reveals This episode is for you if you love your work most of the time, but that other 20% is slowly draining you. 🎧 Listen, share it with the friend whose website is also past its expiration date, and come find me on Instagram @monarchdesignco. Ready to figure out your next steps? Book a discovery call at themonarchdesign.co/contact and let's chat about whats possible

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