The Conscious Entrepreneur | Leadership, Self-Awareness & Mindset

Sarah Lockwood | Conscious Entrepreneur
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  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
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The Conscious Entrepreneur is a top-ranked business and entrepreneurship podcast where business founders come to sharpen their edge from the inside out - building businesses that are sustainable, aligned, and actually work for their life. It’s about becoming the kind of leader your business needs you to be, and doing it with clarity, connection, and purpose.  We don’t buy into hustle culture. And burnout? It’s not a badge of honor. Here, we believe thriving businesses are built by thriving people. Popular Episode Topics Include: Entrepreneur Burnout - How to recognize burnout early, break overworking patterns, and build a business that doesn’t depend on your exhaustion. Sustainable Entrepreneurship - Growing your company at a pace you can actually sustain—without sacrificing your health, values, or sanity. Calm Leadership - Leading with steadiness instead of stress, staying grounded during pressure, and building emotional resilience as a founder. Values-Based Leadership - Creating a culture rooted in integrity, trust, and ownership while leading in a way that aligns with who you are. Delegation & Letting Go - Learning to stop doing everything yourself, trust your team, and step out of the bottleneck role so your business can grow. Founder Mental Health - Real conversations about loneliness, stress, purpose, and the emotional side of entrepreneurship that most people hide. Anti-Hustle Entrepreneurship - Healthy productivity, aligned ambition, and redefining success without grind culture or burnout. Growth Mindset - Adapting, learning, and evolving as a leader so you can navigate setbacks, fear, and uncertainty with more clarity. Emotional Intelligence - Using self-awareness, empathy, and emotional regulation to communicate better, lead stronger, and build a healthier team. Hosted by Sarah Lockwood, The Conscious Entrepreneur is where growth starts within.

  1. FEB 2

    EP 126: When the CEO Can’t Lead: Bijal Shah, Guild, and the Continuity Plan That Worked

    When the CEO role finds you instead of the other way around, everything about leadership gets tested.   Bijal Shah shares what it was really like to step into the interim CEO role at Guild while on parental leave after a sudden crisis. The conversation sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship, business, and wellbeing, and asks hard questions about leadership under pressure. What happens when there is no runway to prepare? How do you lead clearly when personal life and professional responsibility collide?   The episode explores business continuity, succession planning, and conscious leadership through lived experience rather than theory. Shah reflects on how quiet board preparation, steady culture, and honest feedback kept the company grounded. She also shares how conscious leadership became a practical tool at Guild, and why leaders need real mirrors who will push back. If you stepped away tomorrow, would your business hold steady, and would your leadership still work without you?   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Business Continuity Gets Real When A Founder Can’t Lead 03:36 Stepping In As Interim CEO While On Parental Leave 10:02 Succession Planning That Actually Works 13:49 Founder Reality Check For Business Continuity And Succession Planning 16:29 Conscious Leadership That Holds Up Under Pressure 20:56 Embedded Executive Coaching As A Real Business Advantage 31:49 A CEO Feedback Moment That Changed How She Leads 36:02 Three Practical Rules For Conscious Leadership Connect with Bijal Shah: Connect with Bijal on LinkedIn Visit the Guild website    Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn Visit HiveCast   Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website  Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram  Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube   HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.

    42 min

  2. JAN 26

    EP 125: Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders - Part 3 Honesty With Yourself (Replay)

    Telling yourself the truth might be the most radical leadership skill you’ll ever develop.   In part three of the Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders series, Sarah Lockwood is joined by Beck Sydow and Marina Suholutsky for a conversation about the power of radical self-honesty in leadership. They explore how self-awareness for leaders isn’t just about introspection but a foundational strategy for building resilient businesses, leading aligned teams, and navigating high-stakes decisions with integrity.   Beck and Marina reveal how easy it is for entrepreneurs to hide from their own truths, especially when fear, ego, or pressure to perform take over. They unpack how avoidance and overcompensation often mask deeper insecurities and explain why facing those hidden parts with compassion is key to true emotional self-regulation. When leaders name what’s really going on without judgment, they create space for better decisions, stronger relationships, and more authentic leadership.   This episode offers a powerful reframe: self-honesty isn’t weakness, but actually one of the most courageous and transformative skills you can build.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why Radical Self-Honesty Is a Leadership Skill 02:56 How Your Relationship with Yourself Shapes Your Leadership 04:49 Embracing All Parts of Yourself to Build Self-Awareness 06:03 Coping Mechanisms That Lead to Dishonest Leadership 10:03 The Hidden Relief in Facing Hard Truths 14:07 Practicing Compassionate Accountability 17:59 Sovereignty, Self-Honesty, and Emotional Self-Regulation 21:32 Practical Tools to Strengthen Self-Honesty 25:02 Emotional Mastery for Leaders   Links Connect with Beck Sydow: Connect with Beck on LinkedIn  Humankind Business Leaders   Connect with Marina Suholutsky: Connect with Marina on LinkedIn  PurposeBuilt   Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn Visit HiveCast   Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website  Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram  Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube   HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

    26 min

  3. JAN 19

    EP 124: Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders - Part 2 Interrupt Fear With Curiosity (Replay)

    Curiosity is the leadership skill that helps you regulate your nervous system, interrupt fear loops, and make conscious choices in real time.   This episode is part 2 of the Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders series, where Sarah Lockwood is joined again by Marina Suholutsky, the founder of PurposeBuilt, and Beck Sydow, the founder of HumanKind Business Leaders, to discuss how curiosity plays an important role in nervous system regulation and managing emotions. They break down how fear contracts our experience and narrows our view, while curiosity invites expansion and presence. When leaders learn to pause and ask questions like “What else is true?” or “What story am I telling myself right now?”, they create access to agency, opening up space to shift out of reactivity and into conscious, grounded response.   Marina and Beck offer tools that don’t require time away from work or structured rituals. These moments of emotional awareness can happen mid-meeting, mid-sentence, or mid-meltdown. Whether it’s noticing your peripheral vision, softening your tone, or naming what’s happening in the room, curiosity becomes a live practice that leaders can use to stay connected to themselves and others. The discussion also explores how modeling this curiosity builds team trust and strengthens leadership presence. For founders who want to lead with more ease and intention, this episode is an invitation and a toolkit.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Curiosity as a Tool for Emotional Mastery 01:24 Using Curiosity to Shift from Fear to Possibility 02:55 How Curiosity Regulates the Nervous System 04:32 Interrupting Autopilot Responses with Better Questions 06:12 Building Agency Through Conscious Choice 09:59 Real-Time Techniques for Managing Emotions 12:34 Somatic Practices for Curiosity and Expansion 15:23 Leading with Curiosity in High-Stakes Moments 16:48 Asking Open-Ended Questions That Invite Collaboration 19:31 Why Curiosity Reflects True Leadership Confidence   Links Connect with Beck Sydow: Connect with Beck on LinkedIn  Humankind Business Leaders   Connect with Marina Suholutsky: Connect with Marina on LinkedIn  PurposeBuilt   Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn Visit HiveCast   Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website  Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram  Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube   HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

    21 min

  4. JAN 12

    EP 123: Emotional Self-Regulation for Leaders - Part 1 Fear and Suffering (Replay)

    Fear isn’t the enemy of great leadership. Ignoring it is.   How often do you walk into a meeting already bracing for impact? Or catch yourself shrinking back in a moment where you meant to lead with clarity? Sarah Lockwood sits down with Beck Sydow, the founder of HumanKind Business Leaders, and Marina Suholutsky, the founder of PurposeBuilt, for a conversation on emotional self-regulation, fear in business, and the kind of inner work that makes better leadership possible.   They explore how fear lives in the body, how it shows up in the boardroom, and why most founders are still operating from old survival patterns without realizing it. You’ll hear why simply pushing through isn’t a strategy and how learning to notice your internal state (tight shoulders, shallow breath, reactive thinking) can open the door to more aligned decisions. Beck and Marina walk through tools for getting out of autopilot, including body scans, self-inquiry, and what they call “active choice,” the skill of pausing just long enough to shift out of fear and back into presence.   This doesn’t just explain why inner work matters. It shows you how to begin. Whether you’re leading a team, building a company, or trying to show up more fully for your own vision, this is the kind of episode that gets under the surface and invites you to lead from a deeper, steadier place.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Emotional Self-Regulation in Leadership 02:19 Why Fear and Suffering Matter for Founders 05:03 How the Amygdala Shapes Fear in Business 06:08 Welcoming Fear as a Tool, Not a Threat 10:08 Tools for Recognizing and Naming Fear 14:06 The Leadership Power of Softening and Owning Fear 18:13 Making Active Choices to Lead with Awareness   Links Connect with Beck Sydow: Connect with Beck on LinkedIn  Humankind Business Leaders   Connect with Marina Suholutsky: Connect with Marina on LinkedIn  PurposeBuilt   Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn Visit HiveCast   Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website  Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram  Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube   HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

    22 min

  5. JAN 5

    EP 122: Startup Stress Isn’t Just a Founder Problem: Startup Culture and Employee Mental Health

    Startup stress does not stop at the founder’s desk and the hidden emotional ripple effects inside a company may be shaping employee mental health startup culture and long term viability more than any strategy deck ever could.   Sarah Lockwood is joined by Yael Benjamin founder of Startup Snapshot and Annika Sten Pärson founder of the Inner Foundation to unpack new research on the emotional reality inside early stage startups. Drawing on data from hundreds of employees alongside an investor perspective on mental health, the conversation challenges the assumption that stress lives mainly with founders. Anxiety burnout and sustained pressure show up across teams, often more intensely than leaders expect. What happens when employees feel startup stress without the context that helps them make sense of it?   A core insight centers on trust and transparency. The research shows that lack of clarity is one of the strongest drivers of distress inside startup culture, outweighing concerns about compensation or company survival. When founders underestimate how much their stress is felt or assume silence is protective, teams often fill the gaps with fear driven narratives. The episode reframes emotional health as a real business variable and argues that how founders communicate, regulate pressure and build trust already shapes retention performance and long term outcomes.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 The Inner World of Startup Founders 03:54 Research Insights on Employee Well-being 07:32 The Impact of Founder Stress on Teams 12:04 The Importance of Transparency in Startups 16:43 Building Support Systems for Founders and Teams 21:10 Preventative Strategies for Startup Success Connect with Yael Benjamin and Annika Sten Pärson: Connect with Yael on LinkedIn Visit Startup Snapshot The Inner Circle - Startup Snapshot Link to the Research   Connect with Annika on LinkedIn Visit the inner foundation   Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn Visit HiveCast   Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website  Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram  Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube   HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

    25 min

  6. 12/29/2025

    EP 121: How Startup Colorado Is Rethinking Access To Capital, Founder Mentorship, and Support for Rural Entrepreneurs

    Rural entrepreneurship is not a niche story or a lifestyle choice but a high-stakes engine for job creation, community survival and the future of Colorado’s economy.   This episode features a candid conversation with Brittany Romano of Startup Colorado about what entrepreneurship in rural communities actually requires when access to capital mentorship and networks is limited. Drawing from her own experience as a rural founder Brittany explains why many Colorado startups remain in a prolonged startup phase and how rural business growth depends on long-term support rather than quick wins. What happens when strong businesses fall into the missing middle between small business and venture scale? How do founders build momentum when funding and advisors are harder to reach?   The conversation also reframes rural economic development as essential to statewide competitiveness rather than philanthropy. Startup Colorado’s work highlights why small business support in rural areas sustains jobs, strengthens communities and makes it possible for people to live and work across the state. For listeners interested in startup funding in Colorado or building companies outside major metros this episode offers a grounded perspective on why rural entrepreneurship deserves serious attention.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why Rural Entrepreneurship Matters for Colorado’s Economy 05:40 The Real Challenges Facing Rural Entrepreneurs 10:54 Access to Capital and the Rural Funding Gap 17:00 Building Strong Startup Ecosystems Outside Major Cities 23:40 How Listeners Can Support Rural Founders and Communities Links: Visit Howdy Partners Bridge Entrepreneurs Network Colorado   Connect with Brittany Romano: Connect with Brittany on LinkedIn Visit the Startup Colorado website   Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn Visit HiveCast   Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website  Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram  Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube   HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

    25 min

  7. 12/22/2025

    EP 120: 2026 Business Planning for Entrepreneurs: Future Self Identity, Limiting Beliefs, and the “How Can We” Framework with Debbie King

    Most business plans fail before the first meeting because they use last year’s results to decide what is possible next.   Sarah sits down with Debbie King, business strategist, executive coach, and author of Loving Your Business, about future self business planning as a more effective approach to strategic planning for entrepreneurs who want to learn how to stop letting past results limit your future business growth. Debbie questions the habit of treating prior performance as a ceiling and invites a different starting point for planning that begins with identity, belief, and vision. If your current results reflect who you have been, what changes when you plan from who you are becoming?   The discussion turns to the quiet beliefs leaders carry about themselves, their teams, their market, and their offer, and how those beliefs shape decisions long before strategy enters the room. Which assumptions feel true simply because they are familiar? What might open up if you challenged them before pulling your team into the process? Debbie introduces the “How can we?” framework as a way to create forward motion without waiting for certainty, and the episode offers a grounded reset for entrepreneurs who want their 2026 planning to feel clear, focused, and genuinely expansive.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Future Self Business Planning for 2026 03:02 Why Past Results Limit Future Business Growth 09:01 How Beliefs Shape Business Results 17:57 Strategic Planning Begins With Inner Work 26:58 The “How Can We” Framework for Expansion 44:09 Decide, Act, Evaluate, Iterate Connect with Debbie King: Visit the Loving Your Business website Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn   Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Visit HiveCast Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn   Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website  Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram  Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube   HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

    52 min

  8. 12/15/2025

    EP 119: High-Performance in a For-Purpose Business: How Strong Leadership, Top Talent, and Mission-Aligned Fundraising Create Generational Change

    Jason Janz challenges the entire playbook of nonprofit work by showing how long haul commitment and leader backed philanthropy can actually move families out of poverty. His approach sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship, business, and wellbeing and offers a real-time look at how a for-purpose business model can fuel meaningful social impact through strong organizational culture and long-term vision.   Jason explains why CrossPurpose prioritizes deep relational work over broad but shallow programming and how that choice shapes everything from team dynamics to fundraising strategy to the overall health of the communities they serve. He reflects on the influence of his own upbringing, the mentors who shifted his understanding of leadership, and the decision to grow a mission-driven organization that thinks like a high-performance company without losing sight of human dignity. The conversation raises essential questions for any founder: What happens when you commit to one person’s success with the same rigor you bring to your own enterprise? How do you build trust when donors want evidence and families want genuine care? What does wellbeing look like inside a team tasked with solving hard human problems?   Jason also offers a candid perspective on fundraising through shared vision rather than transactions and explains why transformational partnerships outperform traditional tactics. He invites entrepreneurs to consider the power of leader backed philanthropy and the role they can play in shaping generational change. The episode becomes a thoughtful reflection on leadership, purpose, and the kind of steady commitment that strengthens families, organizations, and entire communities.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction to Conscious Entrepreneurship 03:14 The Mission and Model Behind CrossPurpose 06:00 Jason’s Personal Story and Leadership Philosophy 08:58 Deep vs Wide: A Different Approach to Social Impact 17:59 Transformational Fundraising and Donor Partnership 25:51 Advice for Future Nonprofit Founders Connect with Jason Janz:  Visit CrossPurpose   Connect with Sarah Lockwood: Visit HiveCast Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn   Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur: Visit The Conscious Entrepreneur website  Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Follow The Conscious Entrepreneur on Instagram  Subscribe to The Conscious Entrepreneur on YouTube   HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

    41 min
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4.7
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

The Conscious Entrepreneur is a top-ranked business and entrepreneurship podcast where business founders come to sharpen their edge from the inside out - building businesses that are sustainable, aligned, and actually work for their life. It’s about becoming the kind of leader your business needs you to be, and doing it with clarity, connection, and purpose.  We don’t buy into hustle culture. And burnout? It’s not a badge of honor. Here, we believe thriving businesses are built by thriving people. Popular Episode Topics Include: Entrepreneur Burnout - How to recognize burnout early, break overworking patterns, and build a business that doesn’t depend on your exhaustion. Sustainable Entrepreneurship - Growing your company at a pace you can actually sustain—without sacrificing your health, values, or sanity. Calm Leadership - Leading with steadiness instead of stress, staying grounded during pressure, and building emotional resilience as a founder. Values-Based Leadership - Creating a culture rooted in integrity, trust, and ownership while leading in a way that aligns with who you are. Delegation & Letting Go - Learning to stop doing everything yourself, trust your team, and step out of the bottleneck role so your business can grow. Founder Mental Health - Real conversations about loneliness, stress, purpose, and the emotional side of entrepreneurship that most people hide. Anti-Hustle Entrepreneurship - Healthy productivity, aligned ambition, and redefining success without grind culture or burnout. Growth Mindset - Adapting, learning, and evolving as a leader so you can navigate setbacks, fear, and uncertainty with more clarity. Emotional Intelligence - Using self-awareness, empathy, and emotional regulation to communicate better, lead stronger, and build a healthier team. Hosted by Sarah Lockwood, The Conscious Entrepreneur is where growth starts within.

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