In this episode, Kate sits down with Emma Rodger, owner and lead designer of Saltd Studio, a branding and web design studio based in New Mexico. At the time of recording, Emma is one year into motherhood, about seven months into running her business full-time with her husband, and – by her own admission – still very much figuring it all out. Which, honestly, is exactly why this conversation is so good.

They get into what it's really like to live, parent, and work with the same person 24/7, how to build margins into a life that has basically none, and why sometimes the most radical thing you can do is take a day off on your birthday.

They also get into:

• From ballet to branding: Emma's unexpected path to design
• What happened when a client ghosted her the week she came home from the hospital (yes, really)
• The red light/green light system they're still trying to figure out so they don't drive each other crazy
• Why having a robot vacuum is, genuinely, a business decision
• The daycare guilt rollercoaster: dropping off, feeling terrible, then sitting in a meeting feeling thankful, then missing her again
• "Just waits" and unsolicited advice: why validation beats fixing every single time
• Culling your social feed like a business strategy
• The 75 Medium philosophy (credit: Xanthe Appleyard) and why it might save your life
• How Kate's month-long solo hike made Emma consider taking up hiking, or at least sitting on a beach
• Old Man Locke's greatest hits, including: "And then they come back and they've lost their childlike wonder"

This one's warm, funny, and deeply relatable for any mom business owner who's ever felt totally unhinged on the inside while someone calls them "such a chill mom."

Connect with Emma:

• Instagram & Pinterest: @saltdstudio
• saltdstudio.com

Connect with Kate Christy:

• Website
• Instagram

In this episode, Kate catches up with her childhood friend and former basketball teammate, Kari Sponaugle, who went from Excel-sheet perfectionist to running a 50-acre vegetable operation, raising three kids, and holding down a full-time job as a Virginia Cooperative Extension agent. Oh, and her husband's family also runs 200 head of cattle and two turkey houses. Just a few things going on.

Kari gets real about what it actually looks like to wear every hat at once – farmer, mom, professional, wife, quality control manager, and occasional human being – and how she's learned that "good enough" isn't giving up, it's survival strategy.

They also get into:

• Growing up on farms in Highland County and why simple living hits different as an adult
• Why the third kid broke the spreadsheet for good
• Pack-n-Plays in the barn and car seats under umbrellas...farming with babies in tow
• The great microwave incident of 2024 (RIP $6 worth of cookies)
• Skilled trades, college pressure, and what we wish someone had taught us in home ec
• Why Kari's 40-hour day job is actually her version of a vacation
• The mental load of farming: when the weather, the audit, AND your husband's to-do list all hit at once
• Raising the next generation of farmers without working them to death
• Loosen up – the advice Kari would give her younger, checklist-obsessed self

This one's equal parts hilarious, grounding, and a genuine love letter to the people who grow your food and somehow still make dinner.

Connect with Kari: Find her through Virginia Cooperative Extension. And, next time you're at the grocery store, thank a farmer.

Connect with Kate Christy:

• Website
• Instagram

In this episode, Kate sits down with Erin Halper, founder of The Upside to talk about the winding, messy, beautiful road from corporate career to building a business on her own terms. And spoiler: it started in a hospital.

Erin gets real about what it actually takes to juggle motherhood and entrepreneurship – from the NICU to navigating COVID without childcare to hosting seven au pairs (yes, seven). She and Kate dig into why we were never meant to do this alone, what it looks like to be truly intentional instead of just surviving, and why dropping the ball is sometimes the smartest move you can make.

They also get into:

• Why partner support is non-negotiable before you take the leap
• The au pair program Erin ran like a business (and why it changed everything)
• Meal kits, boring dinners, and giving yourself permission to just feed the family
• COVID PTSD and the sabbatical we all desperately need
• Kate's 20-day solo hike and the guilt spiral that almost stopped her
• Glass balls vs. rubber balls and how to tell the difference
• Raising kids who won't drown when it's their turn
• Why perfectionism is a disease and homemade Goldfish crackers are a lie

This one is full of honest, hilarious, and genuinely useful conversation for any mom trying to figure out how to hold it all together or at least look like she is.

Connect with Erin:

• LinkedIn: Erin Halper
• Website: betheupside.com

Connect with Kate Christy:

• Website
• Instagram