The Badass Brand Builder with Emily Hester-DeMello

Emily Hester-DeMello
  • 5.0 (11)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to The Badass Brand Builder, the podcast for ambitious creative women who are done guessing their way through business. Think of this as your standing call with the friend who actually knows what she's talking about. The one who'll tell you the truth about your pricing, help you figure out why your last launch flopped, and still make time to talk about whatever's popular on socials this week. Host Emily Hester-DeMello gets into real strategy, marketing that doesn't feel gross, and the stuff no one tells you about running a creative business.

  1. Oct 5

    Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn: The One Founders Never Talk About

    Chelsea Quint built a career out of a name a client gave her: the business whisperer. In this episode, she and Emily talk about quitting an ad agency job two weeks before her wedding with zero savings, why storytelling is the real foundation of sales, and the metaphor she uses to manage founder anxiety: stop hiding under the covers and actually look under the bed. They also get into the fawn response, the one survival mode founders talk about way less than fight, flight, or freeze, and why it's often the one running the show. Where to Find Chelsea: Instagram, Website Hang out with Chelsea at the Guest House virtual retreat, running October 12-15th! Grab your ticket here.

  2. Oct 3

    Your Limitations Are a Strategy, Not an Apology with Chelsea Davis

    Chelsea Davis spent years in corporate graphic design before launching her own brand and business consultancy five years ago, built to bring design, strategy, messaging, and naming under one roof. In this episode, she and Emily get into running a business with ADHD, what a 67-page Human Design reading actually told her about how she works best, and why she stopped apologizing for needing fewer hours and started treating it as a strategy. They also cover her Guest House resource: a step-by-step process for naming a business or offer that won't get trademarked out from under you later. Where to find Chelsea: Instagram, Website Meet Chelsea at the Guest House virtual retreat, October 12-15th. Grab your ticket here.

  3. Oct 2

    Your Social Media Is a Shopfront, Not the Whole Store With Glen Tubon

    Glen Tubon went from a busy London physical therapy floor to running Serenique, a virtual assistant business built on the belief that founders can't be everywhere at once. In this episode, they talk about the checklist system they're bringing to The Living Room, why your Instagram is only the shopfront and not the whole store, and what happens to your sleep once you finally hand off the backend. Where to find Glen: Instagram Find Glen in The Living Room inside The Guest House, October 12–15. Buy your ticket here.

  4. Oct 1

    The Weekly Money Date That Actually Sticks

    Kristin Winstanley has spent over 20 years as a CPA, and she's convinced most business owners don't have a numbers problem. They have a numbers-avoidance problem. In this episode, she and Emily talk about the high school conversation that put her on the path to accounting, why community still beats AI when it comes to actually running your business, and the money hub dashboard she's bringing to The Study to turn your weekly financial check-in into a five-to-thirty-minute habit instead of a dreaded chore. Where to find Kristin: Website, Instagram, Threads Catch Kristin's round table in The Study inside The Guest House, October 12–15. Grab your Guest House ticket here.

  5. Sep 30

    Stop Waiting to Be Chosen. Start Asking wit Alyssa Moorhead

    Alyssa Moorhead calls herself a DM sales gal, and after 11 years building a done-for-you Instagram DM sales agency, she's earned it. In this episode, she and Emily talk about getting sober in Louisville after 12 years in New York, why so many women avoid outbound sales because they're afraid of coming across as too much, and the eight-ingredient content recipe she's bringing to the retreat to help you close sales in the DMs instead of just collecting them. Where to find Alyssa: Instagram, Website Join the free Sales on Repeat challenge, starting September 28th, for a free lead tracker and a look at combining DMs and email to close more sales. Find Alyssa inside The Guest House, October 12–15. Grab your Guest House ticket here.

  6. Sep 29

    Find Your Brand's Frequency with Alex Dimattia

    Alex Dimattia spent 17 years in hospitality before she ever opened a design program, then taught herself graphic design from scratch after an unplanned move to Florida. Four years later, she's building bold, playful brands for creative entrepreneurs who are done blending in. In this episode, she talks about the surgery that knocked her business out for weeks, the network of founders who billed her back to nearly $10K in a single week, and the tool she's bringing to The Vanity Room that treats your brand like a radio station. Where to find alexandra: Instagram, Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn, Website Find Alex in The Vanity Room inside The Guest House. October 12-15. Grab your ticket today.

  7. Sep 28

    Your Blog Already Has Your Next Newsletter In It with Laura Haley

    Laura Haley calls herself a revenue strategist for travel creators, which mostly means she tells them the truth: a big following doesn't pay the bills, a business does. In this episode, she and Emily talk about the trip to France that made her cut her to-do list down to four or five things that actually make money, and Laura introduces the Outbox Template, the resource she's bringing to help founders resurrect their email marketing without starting from a blank page every month. Where to find Laura: Instagram and Podcast Find Laura inside The Guest House, October 12–15. Grab your ticket right now.

  8. Sep 26

    The Gap Between Your Leads and Your Clients Has a Name with Sarah Cox

    Sarah Cox spent almost 20 years in corporate HR before burnout pushed her into teaching Pilates, and from there into online marketing almost by accident. Now she helps coaches and service providers find the actual leak between the leads coming in and the clients signing on, instead of chasing whatever new tactic is trending. In this episode, she talks about the mentor who pulled her into marketing, why "shiny object syndrome" keeps founders stuck, and the diagnostic tool she's bringing to The Front Porch. Where to find Sarah: LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram Find Sarah on The Front Porch inside The Guest House, October 12-15, 2026. Grab your ticket here.

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5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Welcome to The Badass Brand Builder, the podcast for ambitious creative women who are done guessing their way through business. Think of this as your standing call with the friend who actually knows what she's talking about. The one who'll tell you the truth about your pricing, help you figure out why your last launch flopped, and still make time to talk about whatever's popular on socials this week. Host Emily Hester-DeMello gets into real strategy, marketing that doesn't feel gross, and the stuff no one tells you about running a creative business.

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