Sell Less. Mean More‪.‬ Iolanthe Gabrie

This is our final episode for the year! I think it’s appropriate after such a strange and momentous year that we reflect on the challenges, the amazing bits and the wins.
In this episode, I share what each of my businesses and my personal life looked like and the learnings I’m taking away from what has been a really big year!


There have been many highs - I had a book published, signed onto a lease for our new business Good Axe and enjoyed family holidays and cosplay! But it’s also been hard - there has been illness (a lot of illness!), stress and being knocked back time and time again.


I share my year in some detail in this episode because I think there’s value in that.
 
I hope that your year has been full of as much useful truth as you can manage and I’m really glad for all my listeners, (including in Europe!). I wish you a wonderful 2023 and some deep nourishing rest over the holiday period. I hope you’re able to keep living life on your own terms and negotiating your way forward bravely.

LINKS:


 My businesses:
Good Axe  /  Ruby Assembly  /  mode.law
 
My book:
100 Days of Brave


Businesses mentioned that I love:
23W  /  Nudo Weddings  /  Purpose Productions  /  Hatch Labs  /  Cargo Crew  /  Kenny Lover Ice Cream & Hot Chips  /  Confetti Rebels  /  Play Nook  /  Porridge Comms
 
Events mentioned:
Geelong Small Business Festival  /  @iamellesteele @ TEDx Cecil Street  /  Pax
 
Articles/resources:
Frankie Magazine Strictly Business article!
100 Days of Brave Advent Calendar
 
Previous episode mentioned:
Ep 15 - How We Built a Coworking Space


Connect with me:
Instagram:@rubyassembly
Website:https://rubyassembly.com.au/
https://little-mirrors.com/
YouTube:Ruby Assembly

I have a brand new business which is a project I’ve been working on with my husband and business partner, Yule Guttenbeil, for the entire year. 


Today I share a conversation with Yule about Good Axe, our new co-working and professional workspace brand, which we are incredibly excited about. We take a deep dive into the process of opening a new business that has more overheads than any previous business that I've run before.


We share why we decided to open a co-working space and the opportunities and risks involved in this venture. There were certain assumptions we made that served us, and others that didn’t. We talk about what these looked like, particularly how we navigated financial uncertainty, difficulty finding investors and the challenges of finding the right site. 


Good Axe was born out of our own need for a high end workspace close to home. And, being community minded people, it was really important for our business to benefit our local community. We talk about the values that underpin Good Axe, why they are paramount to us and the future iterations of the business we envision down the track. 


I hope you enjoy this episode as we share the journey of building a baby business from scratch, from ideation, through all the challenges and assumptions to the doors officially opening. 

LINKS:
 goodaxe.com.au 
Sheree McIntyre CoWorking Counsel https://coworkingcounsel.com.au/ 
Simon D'Arcy Cucumber Offices https://www.cucumber.work/
 
Connect with Yule Guttenbeil:
 Website:https://mode.law/
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/p/CkxDEpmyYnY/


Connect with me:
Instagram:@rubyassembly
Website:https://rubyassembly.com.au/
https://little-mirrors.com/
YouTube:Ruby Assembly

Today we’re in conversation with Yule Guttenbeil from mode.law (with a word to the wise, Yule is actually my husband and business partner). Over the last two years mode.law has been through a seismic change and has now relaunched under a new corporate structure. This is, truly, a phoenix story.
As many of you will know, when you consult with trusted advisors, they ask you to reflect on an exit plan for your business. But it’s rare to hear a real story of what a business breakdown and resurrection looks like. Yule reflects on the fact that it often isn’t planned for well enough or understood.


A business breakdown can be traumatic. Yule’s advice is to seek out trusted advisors. Your accountant, lawyer and your mental health professional are all essential. As Yule explains, It’s often really hard to see the writing on the wall, so they’ll help you understand where you are at, and what to do about it.


Now that Yule is out the other side of it, mode.law is better for all of it and his positive experience of relaunching a business provides some really interesting learnings. Yule shares that getting experts in the field of insolvency is particularly helpful, as well as having watertight contracts. Not only do these ease any difficulties that may be associated with the changeover of the asset but they provide a framework for dispute resolution.


Finally, Yule steps us through how mode.law, an online platform to help businesses do their own legal work, can help businesses. mode.law offers granular and detailed templates for legal documents, as well as the opportunity to book in with a lawyer to discuss legal matters. 


Yule also shares a free offer that’s available to Sell Less.Mean More listeners!


Dive in for a detailed breakdown of what it looks like to resurrect a business - there is so much to learn.

LINKS:
 
Listening to: Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford  /  50 Things that Shaped the Modern Economy
Watching: Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities
Playing: Zelda Breath of the Wild  /  The Witcher 3  /  God of War 
Eat: Blue Stone American BBQ
Artist: @questlove
 
Connect with Yule Guttenbeil:
Website:    https://mode.law/
Instagram:    https://www.instagram.com/p/CkxDEpmyYnY/


Connect with me:
Instagram:    @rubyassembly
Website:    https://rubyassembly.com.au/
        https://little-mirrors.com/
YouTube:    Ruby Assembly

My guest today is Vix Maxwell, known to many as New Age Hipster. Vix is an author of spiritual books and young adult fiction, a tarot reader, spiritual development teacher and she joins me to talk all about intuition in business. 
I connected with Vix a few years back on Instagram and it’s been amazing to witness her business journey. As a business owner, creative and intuitive, Vix has so much wisdom to share about the creative development process, and in this episode, we explore the intuitive tools she uses in her life and business and together we deconstruct some of the negative connotations attached to tools such tarot and spiritual readings. 
We talk about how Vix got started in business, beginning with a desire to blog about her spiritual journey and offering tarot readings on Etsy. Knowing nothing about business, Vix learned everything on the go and we talk a little about what that process looks like for a lot of business owners. 
Whether you come from a hard business background, you consider yourself a spiritual seeker or you’re somewhere in between, it’s my hope that this episode shines a light on the benefits of tuning in with your inner voice, and the intuitive tools that are available to help you in business. 

LINKS:

Connect with Vix Maxwell:
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/newagehipster333/
Website:https://www.newagehipster.co/

Connect with me:
Instagram:@rubyassembly
Website:https://rubyassembly.com.au/
https://little-mirrors.com/
YouTube:Ruby Assembly

Today I’m speaking with Elle Steele - a champion Paralympian, intuitive healer and corporate consultant. That’s a pretty diverse pool of expertise but let me tell - Elle is all of that and more.
This episode focuses on Trimester 1 of 100 Days of Brave, focused on ideation and intuition, and Elle is just the right guest to talk to about this!
Elle explains how she incorporates the use of intuition in her life and how tapping into her inner knowledge across her 12 years in business has allowed her to refine her offering. We discuss that determining your offering, developing your brand and launching products are not things we do once but need to do regularly over the lifetime of our businesses.
Intuition is often tied to all things woo woo but we discuss how it can be thought of as resulting from all the knowledge we gather from our life. The tools of divination are merely ear horns to yourself. Elle shares with us the four kinds of intuition, and how you can test your intuition for veracity.
We also discuss how starting a business involves a shift in identity and the importance of safe and collaborative spaces to test your intuition and offerings.
Elle’s work is all about empowering, emboldening and supporting women in business, and this conversation does exactly that! Jump in to soak up her incredible energy and wisdom as we explore ideation and intuition in business.
LINKS:
Rich Witch
 Connect with Elle Steele:
 Website:    https://www.iamellesteele.com/
Instagram:    https://www.instagram.com/iamellesteele/
Facebook:    https://www.facebook.com/iamellesteeleaustralia
Podcast:    https://www.iamellesteele.com/the-psychic-lounge-podcast
Connect with me:
Instagram:    @rubyassembly
Website:    https://rubyassembly.com.au/   /   https://little-mirrors.com/

In today’s episode, we have a big-hearted conversation with Julie Davis, who owns and runs the real estate coaching business, Agent Dynamics. Julie’s purpose is to help people find their greatness so they can show up, contribute their best and feel like an integral part of their team.
The turnover in the real estate industry is second only to hospitality. Julie explains how the ‘full pockets, empty heart’ concept contributes to this high turnover. This concept underlines how important it is to an individual's happiness and team cohesiveness that staff find their place of contribution.
In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore the impact of a single high-performing ‘gorilla’ in a team and the often overlooked factor of accountability.
Julie shares two of her favourite books, which have inspired her to think more about her legacy, and the concept of essentialism - doing less but better. Julie explains her way of working as a positive doer, and how her husband's death has shifted what she is doing in her current season of life.
Doing the work is not about being in the hustle, it’s about ‘choosing your hard’ and doing work that is passion and purpose-driven. Julie’s work is focused on enabling people to be the best version of themselves, and I think after listening to this conversation you’ll be inspired and more empowered to do just that.

LINKS:
Books mentioned:
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less - Greg McEwan
Four Thousand Weeks - Oliver Burkeman
Connect with Julie Davis:
Website:    https://juliedavis.com.au/
Company website: https://agentdynamics.com.au/
Instagram:    https://www.instagram.com/julie_davis_aaa/
Connect with me:
Instagram:    @rubyassembly
Website:    https://rubyassembly.com.au/   /   https://little-mirrors.com/