Hillary and Rachael sit down after one full year of podcasting to discuss the highs and lows of the past year. 

Rachael and Hillary sit down with Catherine Druken on the pod and discuss how she started her business, Lovici. She talks about her post-college road trip where she unexpectedly found direction for her life, how using her own body as a muse changed her perspective and empowered her, and how she learned how to run a business. Catherine is based in Newport and does design, branding, photography, and art. Find it all at Lovici.com and @Loviciii Can't get enough FEMPIRE? Find us at @fempirepod and the Fempire Facebook group, or reach out at fempirepod@gmail.com. 

Hillary and Rachael sit down to talk to Taylor because we wanted to get another perspective on racism and the public reckoning  surrounding race taking place in 2020. She’s a co-founder of The Ally Collective and CT Peace Fest.

Taylor discusses how sometimes being "nice" isn't enough and why she calls herself a "troll," the difference between racism and colorism, how racism is inherently tied to politics, and what needs to be done to get to a point of peace.

@tay.demps @ctpeacefest

We talk to Meredith Farley about her journey at Brafton where she started her career and is now the COO, climbing the corporate ladder as a young professional woman, how she learned to be a leader, her side hustle, and more. Find Meredith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredith-farley, and Instagram: @MJFarley Want more Fempire? Find us on the FEMPIRE Facebook group, @fempirepod on Instagram and Twitter, and email us at fempirepod at gmail.com. 

Guess what? It is possible to beat burnout and still be your successful, productive self. Caitlin Donovan joins Rachael and Hillary on the pod to talk about all things burnout culture. Cait tells us her personal burnout story, how to identify burnout, the burnout tendencies we all fall into, how to combat it, and two steps to take if you're feeling burnt out.  Cait offers 1:1 coaching and online workshops, she hosts Fried: The Burnout Podcast, and she's an acupuncturist. Find all of the above at caitdonovan.com and follow her her @cait_donovan, @friedtheburnoutpodcast. Pre-order her book, The Bouncebackability Factor, here: bit.ly/bouncebackorder Can't get enough Fempire? Follow us @fempirepod, email us at fempirepod@gmail.com, or go to fempirepod.com. 

Ericka Jones, founder of the Minnesota Yoga Coalition and expert on diversity and inclusion, joins Rachael and Hillary on the podcast to talk about race, revolution, and wellness. Ericka explains whether or not "good" people can be racist or uphold a racist system, how cancel culture and social media play into current events, how to approach conversations with those who have a different viewpoint, and what brought us to such a pivotal place in history.  Follow Ericka on Instagram at @ericka.jones_ and @mn.yogacoalition. Looking for a place to start as far as fighting for racial justice? Here are some ideas.  Want more of the FEMPIRE? Follow us on insta, twitter, and facebook. 

Jenn Shore of Shore Creative joins Rachael and Hillary on the pod to discuss design, how she built her business, passive income, celebrating the little successes and her response to COVID-19. Find her work at @shorecreative on Instagram or at shore-creative.com. Join the Fempire @fempirepod, fempirepod.com and The FEMPIRE on Facebook. 

Hillary and Rachael sit down with Casey Smith of Island Wellness Center in Newport and talk about what "wellness" really is, her experience working full time while starting and owning a business, and everything there is to know about CBD. COVID update as of May 15: Right now Island Wellness Center is offering same day CBD delivery to Aquidneck Island as well as in-store pickup and shipping nationwide for all products in their online store. They're officially reopen by appointment only for services like cryotherapy, salt cave and infrared sauna sessions. Follow @islandwellnesscenter and check out the website at https://theislandwellnesscenter.com/.

Hillary and Rachael discuss what’s going on in the world during these challenging times and what’s ahead for Fempire Pod.

Rachael and Hillary sit down with Sarah Nadimpalli, founder of SIREN Women's Cooperative, and talk about what it means to have a female-focused group,  the power of networking and how Sarah has brought her background in community health and discrimination into the mission and values of SIREN. SIREN is comprised of relationship-based networking, a speaker series and a ready-to-work program. The group is based in Greater Newport, Rhode Island.  "Our lead value from the beginning was always inclusion." https://www.sirencooperative.com/ https://www.fempirepod.com/ @fempirepod

Kayla Couto of SALT Cycle Studio joins Rachael and Hillary on the pod to talk about starting a business from the ground up, creating a community and taking your anxieties and insecurities and making them your superpower.  https://www.fempirepod.com/ https://saltcyclestudios.com/

Jackelyn Dacanay, a social media brand consultant and founder of The Art of Fate, joins Rachael and Hillary on the podcast to talk about the e-commerce website she's built powered by women-owned businesses. She also gives listeners three solid tips on improving your presence on Instagram as well as the foundations of marketing your business. https://www.jackelyndacanay.com/ https://theartoffate.us/ https://www.fempirepod.com/

Rita Tinega, the founder and editor-in-chief of Visual Mag, joins Rachael and Hillary on the podcast to talk about the platform she's built for creatives, how art can bring people together and how she made the transition to self-employment.  "We have creatives who are going through stuff in the world and they need a space to express themselves without feeling judged, and therefore Visual Mag has given an opportunity to, ya know, have a debate, go against the society and not try to put yourself in a box." - Rita Tinega https://www.visualmag.ink/ https://www.fempirepod.com/

Cathy Plourde, co-owner of Rhode Island Spirits joins Rachael and Hillary on the Fempire podcast. We talk about building a business, the challenges of being a female business owner, being in business with your wife, how to deal with mansplainers, knowing when to leave a job or relationship and more. Plus, we sample all the lovely favors of Rhodium.  @fempirepod fempirepod.com

Rachael and Hillary talk about their resolutions, or lack thereof, for 2020. 

Christine Thatcher joins Rachael and Hillary on The Fempire Podcast to talk about taking, giving and growing from feedback, coaching versus advising and mentoring, which opportunities to say, "yes!" to, how to know when it's the right time to go back to school and dealing with imposter syndrome.  @fempirepod  fempirepod.com

Ali Lazowski, the founder of Bare Life, joins Rachael and Hillary on the Fempire podcast to talk about building her business and how it was sparked by her chronic illness. Find her at @eatbarelife. 

Christine McNally joins Rachael and Hillary on the Fempire podcast to talk about her experiences being a reiki master, what encouraged her to start, and how we can all tap into our intuition. Rachael and Hillary chat about the reiki experience they had with Christine after the episode.  You can reach Christine at White Feather's Wayfinding on Facebook, @whitefeatherswayfinding. 

Audrey Finocchiaro, co-founder of The Nitro Cart, The Nitro Bar and Mend Yoga, joins Rachael and Hillary on the Fempire podcast and talks about how she built her business, tips and tricks on marketing to the millennial and gen X generations, what it's like to be in business with your significant other and how she takes care of herself and finds balance amid the chaos. Find her @thenitrobar_ and @mend_yoga. 

Amy Larson of Overseasoned joins Rachael and Hillary on the Fempire Podcast to talk about her side hustle, her views on feminism, asking for help and more. Find her @overseasoned_amy and on Overseasoned.com.