The Conscious Entrepreneur | Leadership, Self-Awareness & Mindset

Sarah Lockwood | Conscious Entrepreneur
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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. 1D AGO

    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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 12/08/2025

    EP 118: Leadership Communication In A Virtual World: Build Executive Presence, Speak With Confidence, And Lead Better Zoom & Hybrid Meetings

    Few moments expose a leader’s true confidence faster than the stare of a camera lens.   Karin Reed, founder of Speaker Dynamics, brings forward a clear view of why virtual communication rattles even seasoned leaders and what presence actually requires when the usual cues disappear. She points to a familiar pattern: people become smaller, flatter, or overly polished once the lens becomes the audience, and those shifts quietly shape how trustworthy or grounded they appear. The conversation asks an important question for anyone leading through a screen: what builds credibility when connection feels harder to access?   Karin’s insight centers on the qualities that make leaders feel real on camera. Authentic expression carries farther than perfect delivery. Natural movement brings energy back into the voice. Audio quality influences how intelligent and credible someone seems. Early interaction sets the tone for participation. These elements are less about technique and more about the leader’s willingness to show up with a steady, human presence that invites others in.   The conversation ultimately challenges leaders to rethink executive presence for a virtual world. Confidence becomes easier to project when leaders stop performing and start communicating with the same clarity and ease they rely on in person. The screen changes the environment, but it doesn’t change what people want from a leader: someone they can hear, follow, and trust.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Leadership Communication in a Virtual World 01:55 Karin Reed’s Path to On-Camera Expertise 09:59 Eye Contact and Connection in Virtual Meetings 15:35 Body Language That Builds Executive Presence 24:10 The MVP Framework for Strong Virtual Communication 29:46 Why Production Quality Shapes Credibility 35:20 Authenticity and Executive Presence Connect with Karin Reed: Visit Speaker Dynamics  Connect with Karin 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

    42 min

  8. 12/01/2025

    EP 117: Working With Your Spouse in a Family Business: How Married Co-Founders Stay Healthy & Happy Together

    If you are wondering if you should work with your husband or wife, or for tips and tricks to stay married when you work together, you are in the right place today!  When married partners work together, the business is never “just business.”  Working in a #familybusiness is a dynamic that impacts the partners at home and at work, and it impacts everyone in the company, too. Kaley Warner Klemp, co-author of The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership and The 80/80 Marriage, discusses actionable tips to help partnerships thrive.  She shares suggestions for aiming for generosity rather than fairness, why clear roles protect both the relationship and the business, and how spouses can repair after conflict when you are doing it in front of the whole company.  They discuss the quieter questions leaders rarely ask out loud. How do power dynamics shift when work and home blend so closely? What do employees notice before the couple does? What helps a team feel steady when conflict between partners surfaces in real time? Kaley offers tools for conversations, visible repair, and the kind of leadership that supports long-term wellbeing for the couple and the company. It’s a grounded look at working with your partner in a way that strengthens both the business and the relationship behind it.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Marriage and Business Dynamics 03:00 Conscious Leadership in Action 06:12 The 80/80 Marriage Framework 12:10 How Couples Affect Team Culture 17:59 Power Dynamics at Work and at Home 29:52 Repairing Conflict in Front of Your Team   Connect with Kaley Warner Klemp: Visit Kaley’s Website 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

    47 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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