258: The Power of Saying "No": Avoiding Burnout to Foster Success for Female Business Owners and Founders

 Are you a people-pleaser who struggles to say “no” without that lingering guilt? Get ready to meet Suzanne Culberg, "The Nope Coach," who’s here to help you set boundaries and reclaim your time with confidence! In this conversation, she dives into her bold journey of starting a podcast and the adventure of recording 100 episodes in 100 days. Spoiler: it’s no easy task!

Suzanne shares her refreshingly honest approach to content creation, recording straight from Zoom without worrying about fancy editing or scripts. If you’re feeling uninspired in your business or struggling with burnout, this episode is a fun reminder to stay authentic, let go of perfection, and bring more “you” into everything you create!

In this episode, you will hear:

• The term "business period" to describe cycles of self-doubt and reevaluation in business.

• Setting firm boundaries and saying no without guilt can prevent burnout and focus on their goals.

• How Suzanne’s informal, unscripted approach helped her connect more authentically with her audience.

• The value of experimenting in business without overthinking or perfecting.

• Prioritizing action over perfectionism empowers entrepreneurs to share their ideas and develop essential skills.

🚨This episode is brought to you by Fertile Imagination: A Guide for Stretching Every Mom’s Superpower for Maximum Impact 

This holiday season purchase a copy or two of Fertile Imagination, email me a picture of your copy of Fertile Imagination (under the tree by the candles) using this email address melissa@melissallarena.com , and then on Christmas day I hope to share these images across my social media. Let’s support the moms we are and love this holiday season! 

Shop Fertile Imagination for the holidays! – https://bit.ly/fertilebook  

About Suzanne Culberg

Suzanne Culberg is ‘The Nope Coach’ who helps over-givers and people pleasers learn to set boundaries and say 'No' without feeling guilty.

Suzanne is known for her straight-talking and her wacky t-shirts. She lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and 2 awesome children.

Quotes, that can change your perspective:

“First thing I always ask myself is, am I on my business period? You know, it tends to happen about once a month. It's kind of like, oh, are you rethinking your life choices? And it's like, maybe I should just quit and go stack shelves at the supermarket because then at least I can listen to podcasts and get paid for it.” - Suzanne Culberg

“But I think there's something about the real and raw nature of like, I'm doing this, yes, in service to my business, but also primarily in service to me, like a space to talk about it.” - Suzanne Culberg

“On my podcast, I hit record and that's it. And I went against that for my daughter because she was so uncomfortable and we had to keep restarting and keep restarting. On the fourth restart, I said to her like, this is it, honey. It's this episode or you're not on the show. Like I'm the boundaries queen. I'm gonna do that with my own child.” - Suzanne Culberg

“If you're listening to this and you're like, my kids have nothing to do with my business. I don't want their faces on the internet. Like that's totally okay. That's your choice too.”- Suzanne Culberg

SHARE this episode and start setting those boundaries! Learn how to reclaim your time and energy confidently whether you’re facing burnout or just want to bring more authenticity to your work, Suzanne’s journey of recording 100 episodes in 100 days will inspire you to embrace imperfection and stay true to yourself.

Supporting Resources:

Website: https://www.suzanneculberg.com/

 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzanne_culberg/

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suzanneculberg

Exclusive free offer for listeners of the mom founder imagination hub - Building Boundaries Bundle, Normally $50 AUD free to listeners if you use the coupon code MOMFOUNDER

Link: www.suzanneculberg.com/bbb

Use the code: MOMFOUNDER

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to my podcast for new moms who are entrepreneurs, founders, and creators?  I’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet.

I’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast for writer moms.

This holiday season purchase a copy or two of Fertile Imagination, email me your picture (under the tree by the candles) using this email address melissa [at ]melissallarena.com , and then on Christmas day I hope to share these images across my social media. Let’s support the moms we are and love this holiday season! 

Shop Fertile Imagination for the holidays! – https://bit.ly/fertilebook  

About Fertile Imagination 

You can be a great mom without giving up, shrinking, or hiding your dreams. There’s flexibility in how you pursue anything – your role, your lifestyle, and your personal and professional goals. The limitations on your dreams are waiting to be shattered. It’s time to see and seize what’s beyond your gaze. Let’s bridge your childhood daydreams with your grown-up realities. Imagine skipping with your kids along any path – you, surpassing your milestones while your kids are reaching theirs. There’s only one superpower versatile enough to stretch your thinking beyond what’s been done before: a Fertile Imagination. It’s like kryptonite for impostor syndrome and feeling stuck when it’s alert! 

In Fertile Imagination, you will awaken your sleeping source of creative solutions. If you can wake up a toddler or a groggy middle schooler, then together with the stories in this book – featuring 25 guests from my podcast Unimaginable Wellness, proven tools, and personal anecdotes – we will wake up your former playmate: your imagination! 

Advance Praise 

“You’ll find reality-based strategies for imagining your own imperfect, fulfilling life in this book!” —MARTHA HENNESSEY, former NH State Senator 

“Melissa invites the reader into a personal and deep journey about topics that are crucially important to uncover what would make a mom (and dad too) truly happy to work on…even after the kids are in bed.” 

—KEN HONDA, best-selling author of Happy Money 

“This book is a great purchase for moms in every stage of life. Melissa is like a great friend, honest and wise and funny, telling you about her life and asking you to reflect on yours.” —MAUREEN TURNER CAREY, librarian in Austin, TX 

TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00 Suzanne: I'm just going to start with the frame of when that feeling happens, like that general feeling of blur and what am I doing with my business and whatever. First thing I always ask myself is, am I on my business period? You know, it tends to happen about once a month. It's kind of like, oh, are you rethinking your life choices? And it's like, maybe I should just quit and go stack shelves at the supermarket because then at least I can listen to podcasts and get paid for it. But you know, so it's kind of like, is this a business period type moment or is this a time for, you know, making some changes.

00:00:33 Melissa: Welcome to the Mom Founder Imagination Hub, your weekly podcast to inspire you to dream bigger. Plan out how you're gonna get to that next level in business, find the energy to keep going, and make sure your creative juices are flowing so that this way you get what you really want rather than having to settle. Get ready to discover how mom founders have reimagined entrepreneurship and motherhood. 

00:00:56 Melissa: Ever wonder how they do it? Tune in to find out. And stretch yourself by also learning from diverse entrepreneurs, who might not be moms, but who have lessons you can tailor about how you can disrupt industries and step way outside of your comfort zone. I believe every mom's superpower is her imagination. In this podcast, I'm gonna give you the mindset, methods, and tools to unleash yours. Sounds good? Then keep listening.

00:01:26 Melissa: Hello beautiful listeners and viewers on YouTube as well. It's Melissa Llarena, your host. And I'm so excited because I have been in a little bit of a hiatus, but here we are. The first podcast interview back and live just for you is with Suzanne Culberg. She is in Australia. She is the "Nope Coach," as in no, and she helps over givers and people pleasers learn how to set boundaries and say no without feeling guilty. She's known for her straight talking and her wacky t-shirts. She lives in Sydney with her husband and two awesome children. 

00:02:03 Melissa: So in this conversation, what I thought was absolutely amazing and totally relevant to you is she gave me a term to kind of explain how I feel. She said you might be on a business period, as in the menses, as in aunt's flow is in your home, pertaining to your business. And I think you may have felt this way if you have had a business for longer tha