Episodes

Business at a Crossroads: Refine vs. Reinvent and finding the real friction points in your business Jess Sato continues the Business at a Crossroads series by clarifying how established founders can identify when they need to refine rather than reinvent their business. Using stories from her family’s auto repair work and a recent car diagnostic that missed faulty spark plugs, she explains that many business slowdowns come from subtle, fixable pain points—not full-system overhauls—and w...

What to Do When Your Business Feels Broken? Jess Sato introduces a series on what to do when your business feels “broken,” inspired by networking conversations with owners facing revenue declines, payroll stress, or rapid growth that systems can’t support. Conventional advice and “spaghetti throwing” creates confusion. Progress comes from getting under the hood, using data, and isolating the dominant factor driving results. Jess outlines four crossroads every business reaches:&nbs...

An AI Detox, Travel Pivots, and Doing the Foundational Work Before a Crisis Jess Sato returns after a gap to share why her content felt “flat” and why she kept thinking, “I have nothing to say,” realizing that relying on ChatGPT and Claude for ideation and drafting reduced the deep thinking she normally does through writing. After hearing Brene Brown and Adam Grant discuss how writing helps people know what they think, she began an AI detox, paused her subscriptions, and recommitted to...

Navigating the Sunshine Slowdown in Business Jess Sato uses the metaphor of driving into blinding sunlight to describe how accomplished women can feel stuck when the path forward in their business becomes unclear. Lack of clarity often leads them to wait in ways that look like productivity but is actually inaction. She argues that waiting for clarity, the right time, or readiness is still a choice and often costs momentum, attracts misaligned clients, and widens the gap between current...

Stop Using Someone Else’s Recipe and Evolve Your Business Framework Jess Sato shares how a cupcake hobby became her business, When Cookie Met Cupcake, and how moving from borrowed recipes to her own signature vanilla bean buttercream (and later cake and cookie recipes) helped it grow. She parallels this with how founders often start by adopting proven frameworks from well-known entrepreneurs, but eventually outgrow them as their expertise and the market evolve, creating a “grindy” feel...

Escaping the “Fine” Trap Before Your Business Breaks Using tornado preparedness from growing up in Oklahoma, Jess Sato argues that the worst time to make clear decisions is during chaos, and that business owners (especially accomplished female founders) often wait until things are visibly broken to seek help. She names this pattern the “fine trap,” where clients, revenue, and work seem fine but something feels off, leading to drift, misaligned decisions, barely-fit clients, and a widen...

Jess Sato revisits the “watershed idea” and pushes back on the common entrepreneurial narrative that feeling stuck means you need an identity shift before results can follow. Drawing on more than two decades of work with accomplished women, she argues that many aren’t lacking ambition or capability; they’re wrestling with an unresolved, conviction-driven idea that keeps resurfacing and is hard to name without disrupting a profitable business. She explains that confidence, authority, and self-b...

Jess Sato returns to the Purpose and Profit Podcast to explore why certain ideas won’t leave us alone, calling this experience “unfinished purpose,” a costly, gnawing incompleteness that success and busyness can’t quiet. Using the Continental Divide as a metaphor, she describes a Watershed Idea™ as a conviction-driven insight that channels years of lived and professional experience so nothing is wasted and work, leadership, and legacy shift without starting over. She shares three examples of w...

From Period Poverty to Economic Power: Why Menstrual Equity Matters Jess Sato introduces period poverty through the experience of a student lacking menstrual supplies and explains that it is not only a hygiene concern but also an education, public health, gender equity, and economic issue. She notes that an estimated 500 million women and girls globally lack adequate menstrual products, sanitation facilities, and menstrual health education, and that in the U.S. about 16.9 million peopl...

The Power of Clarity in Uncertain Times In this episode of the Purpose and Profit Podcast, Jess Sato explores the vital role of clarity amidst global volatility and uncertainty. Drawing from personal experiences in various authoritarian regimes, Jess emphasizes the importance of understanding and standing by one's core values, particularly in leadership and business. The discussion highlights the erosion of democratic norms and the necessity of active stewardship, especially for ...

Starting the New Year with Intention and Precision Jess Sato discusses the pressures and urgency often felt at the start of a new year. She emphasizes the importance of easing into the year with intention and avoiding the instinct to make rapid changes. Jess shares her experience of becoming the President of the Board for HeartProfit and talks about the significance of discerning what still matters in one’s work and relationships. She advises leaders to audit their past actions, ...

Strategic Readiness for Founders: The Essential Framework This episode focuses on the critical aspects of strategic planning for business founders. The episode highlights the importance of strategic readiness, featuring Jess Sato's experience with the U.S. military and Boeing. Key points include assessing the state of the business, aligning personal life with business goals, evaluating business design, setting ambitious goals, tailoring marketing and sales strategies, and ensurin...

Conviction-Driven Leadership: Lessons from 'Wicked' This episode concludes a four-part series on the Friction of Success with a focus on conviction driven leadership, inspired by the musical 'Wicked'. Jess Sato explores the transformative power of conviction, sharing personal experiences from her time at Boeing and examples from her clients. She emphasizes that true leadership comes from aligning your business with your true self, even when it means making difficult decisions.&nb...

Re-architecting Your Business for True Alignment and Growth In this episode of the Purpose and Profit Podcast, Jess Sato shares practical advice on identifying and addressing the 4 types of friction she often sees in business. Drawing from personal experiences and client stories, Jess introduces a three-phase framework for rebuilding a business to align with evolving convictions, values, and vision. This strategic and emotional journey emphasizes the role of deep self-assessment, strat...

Decoding Business Friction: Aligning Growth with Evolving Vision In this episode of the Purpose and Profit Podcast, Jess Sato delves deeper into the concept of the friction of success in business. Drawing from personal anecdotes and professional observations, Jess explores how misalignment in conviction, clarity, demand, and impact can signal the need for strategic evolution. She emphasizes viewing friction as feedback rather than failure and offers practical questions and tools, such ...

Navigating the "Friction of Success" in Your Business In this episode of the Purpose and Profit Podcast, Jess Sato recounts the lessons learned from her childhood experiences in her grandfather's autobody shop and her mother's transmission rebuild, drawing parallels between these stories and the need for business owners to recalibrate successful businesses when they start feeling heavy. She introduces a new four-part series on addressing the "Friction of Success" and emphasizes the imp...

Navigating Economic Downturns: Adapting Your Sales and Marketing Strategy In this episode of the Purpose and Profit Podcast, Jess Sato continues the discussion on managing business growth during economic slowdowns. She addresses the common question of whether to lower prices and explains why maintaining your value and adapting your message is more effective. Jess outlines four psychological buyer types identified by Harvard Business Review researchers and offers strategies for selling to eac...

Navigating Business Stagnation: Strategies for Renewed Growth In this episode of the Purpose and Profit Podcast, Jess Sato addresses a common issue faced by business owners: stagnation and slowed growth. Offering personal insights and referencing industry data, she explores why businesses experience cycles of rapid growth and slowdowns. Jess highlights the importance of clarity in messaging, the evolution of consumer behavior, and the need to adjust marketing strategies to remain relev...

In this unique host takeover episode of the Purpose and Profit Podcast, Jess Sato hands over the mic to Shaw Teasley. Jess shares insights from her recent trip to Egypt, exploring the powerful connections she felt and the enriching interactions with female entrepreneurs across various sectors. The conversation delves into themes of legacy, alignment, and the global sisterhood, shedding light on the transformative impact of travel and deep cultural exchange. Jess discusses her plans for a cura...

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in Egypt: Stories of Impact and Legacy Jess Sato continues her journey from Egypt, shifting her focus from the ancient legacies of women leaders to the modern women building Egypt's future. Highlighting inspiring stories of women like Asmaa, Laila, Iman, Soha, and Nirvana, Jess underscores how these women are transforming their communities through bold ideas and impactful actions. Jess emphasizes the importance of voicing and acting on imperfect ideas to ...

The Power of Big Ideas and Ancient Legacy from Cairo, Egypt In this episode of the Purpose and Profit Podcast, Jess Sato broadcasts live from Cairo, Egypt, revisiting a country that shaped her early years and global perspective. Jess shares her transformative experiences as a female business owner and teacher at the American University in Cairo, conducting workshops for female entrepreneurs and leaders. She discusses important topics such as visibility, leadership, and the legacy of po...

BONUS Episode of The Purpose and Profit Podcast with Lisa Katona Smith In this special episode of the Purpose and Profit Podcast, Lisa Katona Smith, TEDx speaker, educator, and author of Parallel Recovery shares her journey from teaching to pioneering an approach that supports families facing mental health and substance use challenges. Jess and Lisa discuss the importance of person-focused language, the role of families in the recovery process, and the personal experiences that led her...

Navigating the Precipice: Unleashing Your Big Idea In this episode of the Purpose and Profit Podcast, Jess Sato concludes a three-part series on women navigating the messy middle in business. Highlights include insights into the frustration and disconnect business owners often feel, with emphasis on the pivotal moment before transformative change, aka the precipice. Jess shares the compelling journey of Lisa Katona Smith, detailing her evolving leadership, from community support f...

In this episode of the Purpose and Profit Podcast, Jess Sato continues the series on real-life women who have overcome misalignments in their businesses to achieve rapid growth. Highlighting the importance of clarity and effective messaging, Jess shares the story of Jennifer Nelson, a successful realtor who struggled to communicate her value concisely. Through targeted messaging strategies, Jennifer was able to stand out in a saturated market. Business challenges often stem from messaging iss...