Her Layered Life

Amanda Barker
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Entrepreneurship

Her Layered Life is a podcast that peels back the layers of every woman’s journey—founders, influencers, and startup leaders alike. Behind every dream is a network of mentors, friends, family, and communities that shape the path forward. Through candid conversations, we explore the women building their visions and the layers of support, struggle, and strength that empower them along the way.

  1. 2d ago

    Lexi Quit Her Stable Job for a $300 Dream. Now It’s Cords Club

    Lexi Petersen was a dental hygienist with a stable career when her husband sat her down and said, "Even if it's just $300 a month, quit your job." She was terrified. Six months later, she did it. Today, that leap is Cords Club, a hypoallergenic jewelry brand made for sensitive ears. But this isn't just a story about how a business started. It's about who Lexi had to become to build it. Lexi paid her way through UVU's dental hygiene program debt-free, sewing $6 scrunchies on the machine her grandma gave her for graduation. A neighbor's leftover box of polymer clay turned into earrings. A laser cutter and a crash course in Adobe Illustrator helped her scale. And years in a periodontal office, watching how metal interacts with the body, shaped the implant-grade titanium and threadless posts Cords Club uses today. We talk about the little breadcrumbs that led her here, choosing community over competition, letting go of control, and an unexpected cancer diagnosis this year that showed her how much she could trust her team. In this episode: 🧵 The sewing machine from her grandma that started it all 🎓 Graduating debt-free, one scrunchie at a time 🏺 Going from polymer clay to a laser cutter and Adobe Illustrator 🤝 The online clay community that chose creating together over competing 🦷 How dental hygiene shaped the metals Cords Club uses today 💬 Ben's "$300 a month" pep talk and why she needed time to say yes 🧱 Pushing on "paper walls" and realizing the box isn't really a box 📦 How a subscription box gave Cords Club its name 📱 Growing to 300K followers on her own by listening to customers 🔑 Giving up control and hiring through paid interview tasks 💛 What she'd tell her 2020 self: stop comparing and stay in your own lane "When you know better, you do better. But you can't know better until you do." – Lexi Petersen Connect with Lexi: ✨ Cords Club: @cordsclub on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest 🛍️ Shop: https://cordsclub.com 👋 Lexi: @lexipetersen___ Connect with Her Layered Life: 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herlayeredlife/ If this conversation stuck with you, follow the show so you never miss an episode, leave a review, and send this episode to a woman who would love Lexi's story. This week, I'm leaving you with one question: Who are you becoming through the layer you're living right now? When women stop comparing and competing and start supporting and creating with each other, we rise together. Because her life is layered, and her influence can change the world.

  2. Oct 14

    From Bangalore to Provo: Creating Something Rooted in Where You Come From | Saritha Ignatius of ZAYA

    ZAYA founder Saritha Ignatius shares how she went from Goldman Sachs and a BYU MBA to building a handmade bag brand rooted in Indian hand-block printing, her faith, and her heritage. How do you build something rooted in where you come from while creating something that belongs in the life you're living now? On this episode of Her Layered Life, Amanda sits down with Saritha to talk culture, career changes, and creating with every layer of who you are. Her story moves from Bangalore to a freezing first winter in Rexburg, from accounting at Goldman Sachs to an MBA at BYU, and into a business she never planned to start. It's a powerful reminder that God is in the details of our lives, and that every layer of who we are can become material for what we create next. ✨ In this episode, we talk about: 🇮🇳 Growing up in Bangalore, attending Catholic school, and how an open-hearted upbringing prepared her to receive the gospel 💍 Marrying young, going against cultural expectations, and moving to BYU-Idaho in 2010 (with zero idea what real winter was) 📊 Building a career in accounting and investment banking, then pursuing an MBA at BYU 💻 The Microsoft internship summer in Seattle that sparked the idea for ZAYA 🎨 How ZAYA's bags are made: hand-carved wooden blocks, layered stamping, and family-run artisan communities in India 👜 Why a bag was the perfect first product: something every woman carries through every hat she wears 👧 Raising her kids to be proud of their heritage, from pop-up markets to teaching hand-block printing to Salt Lake school kids 🙏 Self-doubt, leaps of faith, and choosing a path that doesn't look like everyone else's 🏫 Teaching at BYU and leading a project with schools in India, including the Catholic school she attended as a girl 🛍️ What's next: ZAYA bags coming to the BYU Store 💬 Saritha's advice for the woman who worries her story is too specific: find the balance between tradition and the life people are living now, and let what you create be a bridge between two worlds. 🌿 This week's reflection: What part of your own story might be asking to become part of what you create next? 🎧 If this conversation encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a woman who would love it. When women stop comparing and competing and start supporting and creating with each other, we rise together. 🔗 Shop Zaya: https://www.thezayastore.com/ 📸 Follow Zaya: https://www.instagram.com/thezayastores/ 🎙️ Follow Her Layered Life: https://www.instagram.com/herlayeredlife/

  3. Oct 7

    From Garage Door Photos to a Viral Jewelry Brand: Kilee Nickels' Story

    What happens when the dream you're building requires you to become someone new? Kilee Nickels, founder of Nickel & Suede and mom of five boys, joins me to talk about twelve years of building a brand and who she became along the way. I've followed Kilee for about ten years, so I tried very hard not to fangirl. We go back to her mom-blogger days, the gold leather teardrop earrings that started a trend, and the day her husband came home and said, "So I quit my job today." In this episode: ✂️ The first pair of earrings and the discovery that leather could look like metal 📌 Garage door photos, Pinterest, and the short haircut that found her first customers 💍 An engagement story that feels like a little wink from God 📦 The basement years and the friend who showed up to help 🙏 Praying for the right people, including an agent in Florence ⛽ Knockoffs, patents, and seeing her idea in gas stations 🎨 Staying creative when the business takes all your time 🌱 Why she calls it a "high-growth company" (hint: not revenue) 🤍 "Is there no other way?" and the answer "I am" 👦 Five boys, the "family farm," and a soft heart toward home 👯 Leading women, and why you don't need to start a business ✨ What's next for Kilee and Nickel & Suede Maybe the question isn't only "What am I building?" Maybe it's also "Who am I becoming while I build it?" Connect with Kilee: Instagram: @kileenickels Nickel & Suede: @nickelandsuede | nickelandsuede.com This episode is brought to you by Halftee. Use code HERLAYEREDLIFE on your next order. If this conversation encouraged you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a woman who would love it. When we stop competing and comparing and start supporting and creating together, we all rise. Because her life is layered, and her influence can change the world.

  4. Sep 30

    Cherie Hoeger: Building SAALT, ending period poverty, and designing work-life integration

    Cherie Hager: Building SALT, ending period poverty, and designing work-life integration Cherie Hoeger, founder and CEO of SALT, shares how a personal family need turned into a purpose-driven company creating reusable period care products. This conversation covers the origin story of SALT, the impact of period poverty worldwide, and how Cherie has built a business, family life, and leadership rhythm around intention and service.We discuss product innovation, global distribution, motherhood, entrepreneurship, and the mindset shifts that helped Cherie grow from a technical writer and mother of six into the CEO of an eight-figure company. Key topics Cherie explains how a call with her aunt in Venezuela revealed how inaccessible basic care products had become for women and families there.She shares her first experience with menstrual cups, discs, and period underwear, including why they felt more comfortable, longer lasting, and more dignified than disposable products.The conversation explores period poverty as a global issue affecting over 500 million women and girls, and why reusable products can create a longer term solution than disposable donations alone.Cherie describes SALT’s give back model, including donating over 160,000 products across 60 countries.She talks about designing products for multiple uses, including periods, bladder leaks, postpartum recovery, discharge, and sweat.Cherie explains how SALT positioned itself as a trusted, mainstream brand through packaging, branding, and a retail-ready product strategy.She recounts the pivotal buyer meeting that led to Target taking the brand nationwide in its second year.Cherie reflects on her earlier layers, including Capoeira, e-commerce, real estate, and technical writing, and how each one prepared her for building SALT.She shares how motherhood and entrepreneurship overlap, especially in the need for leadership, planning, emotional resilience, and energy management.Cherie outlines her philosophy of work-life integration, including family councils, quarterly goals, a 90-minute morning routine, and an in-office preschool.

  5. Sep 23

    From $500 to Sold: 16 Years of Pink Desert with Darci Schurig

    She started Pink Desert with $500, a baby on the way, and a one-bedroom apartment. Sixteen years later, she sold it. 💛 Darci Schurig built Pink Desert into one of the most recognized names in modest fashion — and then made the courageous decision to let it go. In this episode, we talk about what happens when the thing you've spent years building is no longer yours, and who you are when the title changes. In this conversation, we cover: 🌵 Starting from nothing — the $500 investment, the fear on the freeway after meeting her manufacturer, and the pushback from people who told her modest swimwear would never sell 📈 The Pinterest post that went viral and gave her the momentum she needed to finally hire her first employee ⏳ Two buyers who fell through years before the right one appeared — and why she believes the waiting was God ordering her steps, not a closed door 📱 The scary, vulnerable decision to announce the sale on social media before she even had a signed offer — and what happened within two weeks 💔 What grief actually looks like when you let go of something you built with your whole heart, even when you know it's the right decision 🩰 How she's leaned on a lesson she learned once before — after an ACL injury ended her ballet career — that an ending isn't the end of the story ⏰ What she's calling "the gift of time," and the next chapter she's stepping into with her family This isn't just a conversation about building a successful company. It's about identity, purpose, letting go, and having the courage to step into a new layer before you can clearly see what comes next. Because her life is layered — and her influence can change the world. 💛 Follow Darci: @darcischurig | darcischurig.com If this episode encouraged you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a woman who needs the reminder that waiting isn't wasted — it's where we practice hope.

  6. Sep 16

    Confidence Is a Choice: A Conversation with Riley Meckley

    Nobody ever really arrives — we're all just becoming. This week, Amanda talks with 22-year-old teacher and content creator Riley Meckley (@alwaysrileymeckley) about growing up online in real time: building confidence through speech and debate, landing a teaching job right out of college, and why she just rebranded her page to make room for more than fashion. ✨ How speech and debate built Riley's confidence from the ground up 👗 The real link between getting dressed up and feeling confident 🔄 Why she changed her page name from "Always Dress Best" to "Always Riley Meckley" 💼 Treating content creation as a hobby, not a hustle — and why that's freeing 🤝 Her rule for brand partnerships: only promote what she'd already wear 💰 Getting into investing young — mutual funds, the S&P 500, and starting small 🙏 The layer of her life that's required the most faith lately 💬 What being high school class president taught her about handling critics Confidence isn't something you wake up with one day — it's a choice you make daily. Tune in for a conversation about style, faith, finance, and the courage to keep becoming.

  7. Sep 9

    Seen in Places She Never Knew She Could Be: Rae Pito on Confidence & Representation

    What happens when the thing you spent years learning for yourself becomes something you give away? Today I'm sitting down with Rae Pito — model, modeling coach, and connector extraordinaire — to talk about confidence, representation, and what it actually looks like to teach someone to believe in themselves. Rae grew up in Long Beach, California, never imagining modeling would become part of her story. A $150 photo shoot (funded by her sister's belief in her) turned into a career, and eventually into Salaiasina Talent — her modeling coaching business, born out of a simple realization: women needed to see someone who looked like them before they could imagine it for themselves. In this conversation, we talk about: 🌸 What it actually felt like to be the only woman of color in a room of 70+ models 🌸 Why "fake it till you make it" might be the most underrated mantra out there 🌸 The four-session breakdown of what modeling coaching really teaches (hint: it's not just posing) 🌸 Why confidence isn't something you build from scratch — it's something you already have 🌸 How Rae's faith shapes the way she sees purpose, timing, and "fulfilling the measure of her creation" 🌸 The moment she finally let herself say, out loud, "I'm a model" 🌸 Why the best investment isn't money — it's time, and who we spend it with This one's for every woman who's ever felt like an imposter in a room she was fully meant to be in. Rae's story is proof that once you can see something in your mind, you're already halfway there. ✨ Connect with Rae: Personal IG: @RaePito Coaching IG: @salaimasinatalent This episode is brought to you by Halftee — use code HERLAYEREDLIFE for a discount on your next order. If this conversation encouraged you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a woman who needs to hear it. When we stop comparing and competing and start supporting and creating together, we all rise.

  8. Sep 2

    The Part of Her Story We Never Got To

    She was 35 weeks pregnant with her third son when a flu that should've cleared in four days turned into organ failure, an induced coma, and a fight to breathe on her own. Today, my friend Tesiah Frame is back on Her Layered Life — and this time, we're finally telling the full story. The first time Tesiah was on Her Layered Life, we only scratched the surface: business, motherhood, a life she loved. But there was a layer underneath it all we hadn't gotten to yet — the hospitalization that changed everything, the addiction recovery program that helped her rebuild, and the seven-year journey to finally feel whole in spirit, mind, and body. This conversation goes deep. We talk about ICU delirium and the trauma your body holds onto even when your mind has moved on. We talk about narcotic withdrawal disguised as grief. We talk about rage, survivor's guilt, and the moment Tesiah realized she needed help before she hurt the people she loved most. And we talk about the prayer that changed everything: "Change me. I don't want to live like this anymore." If you've ever felt like your life split into a before and after — through a diagnosis, a loss, a betrayal, or a moment you never saw coming — this episode is for you. Because healing isn't about going back to who you were. It's about becoming who you were always meant to become. What we cover in this episode: 🔹 The medical emergency that changed Tesiah's life at 35 weeks pregnant 🔹 What ICU delirium is — and the real trauma it leaves behind 🔹 Coming home to her kids after weeks on life support 🔹 The rage and post-traumatic stress that surfaced six months later 🔹 Why she joined a 12-step addiction recovery program — and what it taught her about the Atonement 🔹 How COVID disrupted her healing and forced her to keep going alone 🔹 The physical, cellular toll trauma took on her body for years afterward 🔹 The prayer that finally unlocked her healing: "Change me" 🔹 What she'd tell any woman whose life has changed overnight Tesiah also updates us on everything since our last conversation — her republished book, her new podcast studying women in the Old Testament with Becky Squire, and her business, Happy Sacrament. Follow Tesiah: 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @TesiahFrame 🎥 YouTube: @TesiahFrame 🌐 Website: tessiaframe.com 🕯️ Business: happysacrament.com If this episode encouraged you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a woman who needs the reminder that every layer of her life — even the hardest ones — can draw her closer to God. Because her life is layered — and her influence can change the world. 💛

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Her Layered Life is a podcast that peels back the layers of every woman’s journey—founders, influencers, and startup leaders alike. Behind every dream is a network of mentors, friends, family, and communities that shape the path forward. Through candid conversations, we explore the women building their visions and the layers of support, struggle, and strength that empower them along the way.

Information

  • Creator
    Amanda Barker
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Amanda Barker

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