Off The Grid: Leaving Social Media

Discussion about choosing between tools and platforms, and how network effects create lock-in. A comparison of Shopify versus Etsy to show different business models. Four practical strategies for coping with platforms, including harm reduction and gradual migration. A personal decision point about moving parts of an audience off Substack and timing for that change.

Harry Doull, co-founder of Keap Candles and former Google and UN staffer, left tech to build a Hudson Valley B Corp making thoughtfully crafted candles. He discusses launching via Kickstarter, a subscription-first model, in-house production, choosing fewer SKUs for quality, moving toward natural fragrances, and deliberately growing without social media or Amazon.

A coaching-style chat about staying visible without Instagram or other platforms. Practical questions about who benefits from non-social strategies and what groundwork to do first. A focus on clarifying goals, audience, and monetization before choosing channels. Concrete tactics for building a location-focused listings site without social media.

A deep look at the online business growth escalator and why some paths feel like the wrong fit. A breakdown of common growth stages from idea to scaling. A candid discussion about feeling stuck or overwhelmed when growth misaligns with capacity. Practical prompts for choosing a personalized path and recalibrating your business direction.

Nic Antoinette, writer and creative business owner behind long-form essays and the newsletter Now What?, shares why they took a grown-up gap year and how degrowth shapes their 2026 plans. They talk about stepping back from work, decoupling identity from career, funding a year off, caregiving and grief, right-sizing earnings, and choosing presence over hustle.

She opens her books and walks through five years of real business revenue, expenses, and take-home pay. Topics include why financial transparency needs context, the gap between revenue and personal wellbeing, and the role of privilege in income results. She also covers shifting a side hustle into full time and how earnings contributed to buying a home.

Creative businesses can be deliberate tools for liberation. The conversation lists actionable practices for art and commerce to counter authoritarian systems. It critiques corporations and tech that enable oppression and offers a practical 50-item roadmap. Listeners are invited to choose one action and join collective accountability to make change.

Welcome to season nine of Off the Grid!We’re kicking this one off by talking about why I’m kinda closing my business…Or more accurately: how pruning one tree helps another grow. Tune in to hear all about:Abolishing ICE & Standing with MinnesotaWhat I did before I started Softer SoundsMy step-by-step transition from side hustle to small businessThe one strategy that brought in 6 months of $$$Why I started this podcast… and then almost quit making itThe 3 keys to Off the Grid’s successHow I’m turning this tiny indie show into my full-time job in 2026 LINKS & RESOURCES:💠 Free Class: How Our Businesses Create Change✊ Stand with Minnesota📲 5calls.org (use the app, it’s great!)💕 Join us in the Off the Grid Clubhouse💫 Get the free Leaving Social Media Toolkit📔 Buy my book: Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media🫂 Also big hugs to my biz friends Taylor Elyse Morrison & Nic Antoinette📣 Learn more about advertising with Off the Grid  COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌞 Craving a planner that's about permission not perfection? Check out Nine to Kind Planners today. Get 50% off digital planners with code OFFTHEGRID50 & 25% off analog products with code OFFTHEGRID25. Learn more & claim your discount at: https://www.ninetokind.com/pages/offthegrid 

In this episode preview, I’m joined by Miana Melendez to talk about the major astrological transits of 2026 and how they might shape our year in creative business. Miana is a Certified Astrologer, Certified Life Coach and Brand Strategist who helps ambitious leaders, divine disruptors and soul led entrepreneurs step into their next evolution of identity, leadership and vocal expression. Tune in to hear us chat about:Why presence is the word of the yearHow Neptune and Saturn in Aries might shape our visionThe powerful potential of Uranus in GeminiWhy Chiron in Taurus and Jupiter in Leo will give this year a lift& lots more! To hear the whole episode, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse When you do, you'll get access to over 30 bonus episodes (and counting), curated tech + creative business newsletters, and more. Plus your own private podcast feed, comments threads, and behind-the-scenes updates on the show. Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)  COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌞 Craving a planner that's about permission not perfection? Check out Nine to Kind Planners today. Get 50% off digital planners with code OFFTHEGRID50 & 25% off analog products with code OFFTHEGRID25. Learn more & claim your discount at: https://www.ninetokind.com/pages/offthegrid 

Join me for a deep breath, an invitation to release expectations, and an update on what's happening in the Clubhouse before Off the Grid returns on January 28th. And if you want more Off the Grid right now...  --> Join the Clubhouse ASAP! Three exclusive episode are going live in the next week:🌈 3 ways I'm reclaiming my attention, creativity & workday🧐 WTF are the celebrity entrepreneurs doing? w/Amanda Laird💫 Your 2026 biz astro forecast w/Miana Melendez These episodes are EXCLUSIVELY for Clubhouse subscribers, who help me keep this podcast going by chipping in $5 to support the show. Join today! P.S. If you (like me) are feeling unsure of how to process and resist the atrocities in the US right now, I’ve been returning to this video on opposing fascism in daily life for guidance.