Session Schedule

Oliver Burkeman

Finding Freedom in "Imperfectionism"

A live conversation about limits, how they can lead to meaning, and doing less (on purpose)

12 PM ET May 13, 2025

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What if productivity was the problem—not the solution?

In this rare live conversation, Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks, joins Jessica Abel to explore what it really means to make peace with being a finite human in a world of infinite options and high-pressure expectations.

They’ll talk about why trying to “get on top of everything” is a losing game, how chasing the perfect system keeps us stuck, and what changes when you stop treating your time as a problem to solve.

Expect a candid discussion about ambition, creative work, and doing what matters—without pretending you can do it all.

Marie Poulin

Productive By Nature

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What if productivity doesn't come from maximizing output at any cost, but about creating sustainable systems that work with your natural tendencies?

Drawing on permaculture—an approach to designing robust, regenerative ecosystems—workflow designer Marie Poulin shows how these same principles can help us move from mindlessly optimizing to strategic energy management...that is still highly productive!  

Susan Boles

Calm is the New KPI

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What if your business could be designed to work for you—not just your clients? Imagine shifting your focus from the constant pressure to grow at all costs to something more intentional and sustainable: calm.

In this refreshingly honest session, CFO and operations expert Susan Boles helps you pause, zoom out, and start making different choices—on purpose. You’ll learn how to rethink your services, your systems, and your success metrics so your business gives you what you actually need: margin, stability, and breathing room.

Andréa Jones

CTRL+ALT+ENGAGE: Rebooting Your Social Media Approach

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You’re doing all the things—posting consistently, showing up everywhere, chasing the algorithm—but it’s exhausting. And it’s not working the way it should.

In this session, mindful marketing strategist Andréa Jones shows you how to ditch the hustle and design a social media strategy that actually fits your life. Her Minimal Viable Marketing method helps you protect your time, attract real relationships, and grow without burning out.

You’ll walk away with a smarter, more sustainable way to market yourself—without going viral, posting daily, or pretending to like social media.

Charlotte Ellis Maldari

Find More of Your Best Clients Without Content, Ads or Cold Calls

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Most creative service providers get stuck in the same exhausting loop: post more, network harder, hope for referrals. But content alone can’t bring in new clients if it’s only being seen by the same 300 people who already know you.

When content stops working and referrals dry up—what then?

In this helpful and tactical session, creative marketing strategist Charlotte Ellis Maldari shares her proven framework for building a lead generation system that runs in the background—so you can focus on doing your actual work, not just finding more of it.

Jessica Abel

How to Design Your Business Around Your Reality (Instead of the Other Way Around)

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You’re juggling client work, marketing, admin, your creative practice—and of course there’s the rest of your life. Kids. Parents. Friends. Your own health. And somewhere in there, you’re supposed to rest?

Most overwhelmed creative pros think (hope?) they can find the answer in better systems, smarter tools, or finally wrapping that one big project. (I’ll take a break when I finish X…)

But if your business is set up to run you into the ground, no amount of optimization can fix that.

The real issue isn’t your productivity. It’s your capacity.

In this empathetic session, business coach and author Jessica Abel shares a new way to think about how you work—one that starts with centering your lived reality, not pushing through.

Tara McMullin

When Your Business Stops Working: What to Redesign First

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If your business isn’t producing the results you want—more revenue, more time, more ease—the problem isn’t you. The business is a system, and that system simply isn’t set up to create the outcomes you’re aiming for.

The good news?

You built that system—which means you can rebuild it.

In this foundational session, writer, podcaster, and critic Tara McMullin shows you how to rethink your business model from the inside out—starting with your real priorities. When you take a strategic stance on how your business is designed, you can stop blaming yourself and start making thoughtful, practical changes that support your goals, your values, and your capacity.

Michelle Warner

Relationship or Traffic Marketing? Why Choosing the Right Strategy Changes Everything

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Even when you’re doing all the things—posting, emailing, showing up—getting in front of the right people (and getting them to care) can be exhausting.

But what if doing All The Things isn’t just unnecessary…What if it’s actually slowing you down?

In this session, business strategist Michelle Warner reveals the hidden mismatch that quietly derails most small business marketing: your marketing strategy doesn’t match your business model.

Using her Relationship vs. Traffic Marketing framework, Michelle shows you how to align what you sell with how you sell it—so your marketing finally starts to build natural, compounding momentum.

Gina Knox

Never Run Dry

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If your revenue fluctuates, you’re not doing anything wrong—that's just what running a small business looks like.

But without the right systems, inconsistent income leads to constant second-guessing, short-term thinking, and risky decisions that stall your growth.

In this practical, no-shame session, money coach Gina Knox lays out a clear path to building financial stability even when your income isn’t steady. Discover smarter systems for managing cash, spending strategically, and using your money to grow—not just survive.

Matt Madden

Thinking Inside the Box: How to Use Constraints as a Source of Creativity and Innovation

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What if the fastest way to get unstuck… was to make your task harder?

Sounds backwards. But cartoonist and creativity coach Matt Madden has seen it again and again: when you challenge yourself with a strange, unnecessary constraint—a goofy rule, a 5-minute deadline, a letter you’re not allowed to use—your brain lights up.

Forget waiting for inspiration to strike. Matt will show you how to trap it by narrowing the playing field and turning your work into a game.

Drawing from experimental comics, literature, and design, Matt shares how self-imposing playful limits—like writing without using a given letter or telling a story using only questions—can sharpen your voice, spark unexpected insights, and help you get more done with less flailing.

Melanie Deziel

Turn Your Ideas Into IP

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You know you’re doing something special—but explaining how you do it is another story. If your method lives in scribbled notes or gut instinct, it’s holding you—and your business—back.

In this session, creative systems strategist Melanie Deziel shares her IRON framework—a simple, powerful way to turn raw ideas into structured, repeatable intellectual property.

If you want to become known for your ideas—and to make them work harder for you—start here.

Tarzan Kay

Write Better Emails: From Information to Connection

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In a world of endless content and crowded inboxes, how do you write emails people genuinely want to read? Email genius Tarzan Kay reveals why the best newsletters aren't piling on more information — they're making a genuine connection.