Anti-Oppressive Marketing & Reducing Urgency with Natalia Sanyal

12/17/24 • 50 min

Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI

How do you reduce urgency in a world where urgency is so deeply embedded? How do you market yourself and your work in a way that is anti-oppressive?

We're continuing in our mini-series on my calmer framework for a calmer business. This week, we're focused on reudcing urgency and techniques for anti-oppressive marketing.

We're joined by Natalia Sanyal, an anti-oppressive copywriter and brand messaging strategist. She’s worked with billion-dollar businesses like Apple and Lululemon, New York Times bestselling authors like Layla Saad & Deepak Chopra, and award-winning marketing agencies. Now, she teaches high-integrity personal brands to use marketing as a force for good so they can sell better and harm less.

On this episode, we learn some techniques to reduce urgency in our work, align actions with values to foster a calmer atmosphere for you, your team, and your business.

Listen to the Full Episode to Hear:

How can you move away from the default urgency-driven model?
How can you reduce client emergencies and create more flexibility?
What are the real-world applications of aligning business actions with values?

How does embracing vulnerability play into the human aspects of entrepreneurship?

Learn more about Natalia Sanyal

Learn more about me, Susan Boles:

We value your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to share them with Susan here. Your input is not just valuable, it's crucial in shaping future episodes.

(00:00) - Introduction to Human-Centered Entrepreneurship
(00:55) - The Elements of a Calm Business
(01:40) - Reducing Urgency in Business
(03:03) - Anti-Oppressive Marketing with Natalia Sanal
(24:51) - Embracing Anti-Oppressive Marketing
(26:20) - Taking the Leap: Transitioning to Value-Aligned Clients
(31:19) - Deconstructing Urgency in Business
(37:47) - Building a Calmer, Sustainable Business

Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

How do you reduce urgency in a world where urgency is so deeply embedded? How do you market yourself and your work in a way that is anti-oppressive?

We're continuing in our mini-series on my calmer framework for a calmer business. This week, we're focused on reudcing urgency and techniques for anti-oppressive marketing.

On this episode, we learn some techniques to reduce urgency in our work, align actions with values to foster a calmer atmosphere for you, your team, and your business.

Listen to the Full Episode to Hear:

How can you move away from the default urgency-driven model?
How can you reduce client emergencies and create more flexibility?
What are the real-world applications of aligning business actions with values?

How does embracing vulnerability play into the human aspects of entrepreneurship?

Learn more about Natalia Sanyal

Learn more about me, Susan Boles:

We value your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to share them with Susan here. Your input is not just valuable, it's crucial in shaping future episodes.

(00:00) - Introduction to Human-Centered Entrepreneurship
(00:55) - The Elements of a Calm Business
(01:40) - Reducing Urgency in Business
(03:03) - Anti-Oppressive Marketing with Natalia Sanal
(24:51) - Embracing Anti-Oppressive Marketing
(26:20) - Taking the Leap: Transitioning to Value-Aligned Clients
(31:19) - Deconstructing Urgency in Business
(37:47) - Building a Calmer, Sustainable Business

Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

Previous Episode

Architecting Rest with Jordan Maney

We live in a society obsessed with productivity and working more, so how can we lean into rest? What are the benefits of building rest into our businesses? And how can we begin to do that?

We're continuing in our mini-series on my calmer framework for a calmer business. This week, we're focused on rest. Rest is often a challenge for us go-getters, solopreneurs, and entrepreneurs. But, it's essential to stop burnout, stay creative, and have a truly calm and sustainable business.

We're joined by Jordan Maney, a Radical Joy CoachTM and creator of the Radical Joy Collab who shares how we can build a rest ethic alongside our work ethic. She coaches others to learn the radical practice of rest so they can bring their visions to life. She’s been featured in New York Magazine, Yahoo, Attn, Oprah Magazine, and Martha Stewart Living.

On this episode, we learn how to design our work systems to include rest in a way that works for each of us, how to push back on scoetal pressure to not rest, and how our work lives and personal lives can be transformed with the power of rest.

Listen to the Full Episode to Hear:

How can rest be intentionally designed and built into a business to make it calmer and more sustainable?
Why is rest a critical element of productivity and how does it contribute to better creative work?
What does a rest ethic look like and how can it be developed alongside a work ethic?

Learn more about Jordan Maney:

Learn more about me, Susan Boles:

We value your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to share them with Susan here. Your input is not just valuable, it's crucial in shaping future episodes.

(00:00) - Introduction to Rest Ethic
(00:51) - Exploring the Importance of Rest
(01:44) - Challenges and Personal Experiences with Rest
(05:42) - Developing a Rest Ethic
(22:21) - Understanding Your Needs and Accommodations
(25:36) - Challenges of Implementing Rest in Work
(29:44) - The Importance of Rest and Its Impact
(37:58) - Practical Steps to Incorporate Rest

Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

Next Episode

Making Calm Your New KPI: How to Set Goals That Truly Matter

In this episode of Beyond Margins, Susan dives into the heart of goal-setting, breaking free from default metrics and focusing on what truly matters to your business and life. She shares her own approach to prioritizing calm as a core business metric and gives a behind-the-scenes look at how she set and tracked a single impactful goal in 2024—taking 12 weeks off to rest (spoiler: she surpassed it).

Susan explores:

Why default metrics like revenue targets may not align with your values.
How to set meaningful goals rooted in your priorities.
A practical framework for choosing Calm KPIs that guide your decisions.
Why setting fewer goals—or none at all—can work for demand-avoidant or overcapacity business owners.

Stay tuned for the rest of the series, where Susan will share insights from other business owners about their Calm KPIs, including an upcoming live workshop to develop a custom KPI for one business.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

The pitfalls of measuring default metrics that don't serve your goals.
How Susan structures her business to prioritize rest and calm.
Tips for evaluating and tracking your progress towards intentional goals.
Real-world examples of unconventional metrics driving success in calmer businesses.

Support the Show:
Love Beyond Margins? Support the podcast by leaving a rating and review wherever you listen. Your feedback helps others discover the show and empowers us to continue sharing valuable insights.

Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI - Anti-Oppressive Marketing & Reducing Urgency with Natalia Sanyal

Transcript

Susan Boles00:00:00.160

Hey, Susan here. Before we get into the episode, I wanted to give you just a quick heads up that our audio setup wasn't ideal for this episode, but the conversation is so great. I hope you'll tune in and bear with us that the audio quality isn't quite up to our usual standard. You can also read the transcript linked in the show notes if you prefer. Alright. Onto the show.

Natalia Sanyal00:00:22.964

I think, like,