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PODCAST · business

Self-Employed Happy Hour

by Peri Pakroo

Self-employment author and coach Peri Pakroo chats with guests about working for themselves, whether that's freelancing, running a coffee shop or heading a corporate empire. Peri and rotating co-hosts also interview artists, musicians and other creative workers who share stories about pursuing their projects and careers. We celebrate and illuminate the many sides of self-employed life and business, including related topics like road-tripping, thrift shopping and procrastinating. Any hour can be happy hour when you're self-employed. :)

Publisher-supplied feed metadata · PodParley refreshed Mar 30, 2026 · Source feed

Episodes

  1. Ep. 57: Angela Merkert of Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity

    Peri talks with Angela Merkert, the Executive Director of Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity, about her organization's efforts to create a public bank owned by the State of New Mexico and how it could support more equitable access to capital in the state. Peri also shares updates from her...

  2. Ep 56: Monique Salhab and Kendra Toth, Co-Founders of RACED

    Host Peri Pakroo talks with Monique Salhab and Kendra Toth about their firm, RACED, which helps clients build equitable and inclusive workplaces and organizations. By embracing their own identities and their strengths in holding space for uncomfortable conversations, Monique and Kendra are...

  3. Ep. 55: Giovanna Rossi, Founder of the Family Friendly Business Award

    'Tis the season...of badass women stealing the show in the House impeachment hearings. ;) In this episode, host Peri Pakroo invites leadership coach, founder of Family Friendly New Mexico, and Producer/Host of The Well Woman Show Giovanna Rossi to talk about how women in leadership can maximize...

  4. Ep. 54: Allegra Howell, Woodworker & Owner of Foxy Girl Designs

    Holiday market season is upon us! Host Peri Pakroo invites woodworker and maker of useful recycled wood items Allegra Howell into the studio to talk shop, craft markets and more. Allegra shares how she got into the biz of recycled wood handicraft, what makes a good market, and how she works on...

  5. Ep. 53: Unepisode with Peri & Ruth

    What a week! The second annual Unconference just wrapped, and podcast host Peri Pakroo exhales and recaps the highlights with Ruth Dove from Coffee + Creatives, the organizer of the event. This conference of educational and networking events serving Albuquerque's creative workers is growing into…

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  6. Ep. 52: Pilar Westell, Owner of Zendo Coffee

    Host Peri Pakroo chats with Pilar Westell, owner of Zendo Coffee, a coffeehouse and art gallery in south downtown Albuquerque. We talked about the intersection between art and coffee, and the ins and outs of building and running a community space. Peri also chats with Ruth Dove from Coffee +...

  7. Ep. 51: Kei & Molly Textiles Founders, Kei Tsuzuki and Molly Luethi

    Around ten years ago, Kei Tsuzuki and Molly Luethi wanted to create a social enterprise that would enable them to create quality jobs for refugees and immigrants. Today, Kei & Molly Textiles has made good on that mission, and has grown into a vibrant artisan manufacturing business that employs...

  8. Ep. 50: Sirius XM Host John Fugelsang

    I had the distinct pleasure of welcoming John Fugelsang to the studio to talk about comedy, politics, religion, and how he's woven all those elements and more into his unique creative career. John is the host of the "Tell Me Everything" series on Sirius XM Insight (channel 121) and a frequent...

  9. Ep. 49: You-Nicorn Author Danielle Vincent

    When Danielle Vincent left her job at Oprah to start a soap-making business with her new husband, more than a few folks thought she was, well, crazy. Six years later, Outlaw Soaps is a success, propelled largely by Danielle's high-level marketing chops and time management skills. She has just...

  10. Ep. 48: Big Wood Beard Combs Founder Kyle Malone

    It's a hairy world out there, and Kyle Malone has a comb for it. Kyle had been running his branding firm Kinfolk Branding when he had the idea for an heirloom-quality beard comb, and he ran with the idea. Peri and Eph Sharpe talk with Kyle about launching Big Wood Beard Co, learning about his...

  11. Ep. 47: Gallery Owner, Builder and Artist Sheri Crider

    Building a business takes resourcefulness, resilience and often a lucky accident or two. No one knows this more than Sheri Crider, who has built a life as an artist and founder of visual art centers (currently, the Sanitary Tortilla Factory in downtown ABQ), despite challenges of addiction and...

  12. Ep. 46: Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

    Today on Self-Employed Happy Hour we get our activism on and talk with Maggie Byers and Emilie De Angelis of Moms Demand Action NM, a bi-partisan grassroots organization fighting the epidemic of gun violence in the US. Peri and Eph Sharpe chat with Maggie and Emilie about the group's advocacy for...

  13. Ep. 45: Wellness and Gratitude Coach Antonia Montoya

    Today on Self-Employed Happy Hour we talk wellness with coach, educator, bass player and grateful human Antonia Montoya. Peri and Eph Sharpe chat with Antonia about how to carve out time and intention for self-care within a busy self-employed life. Peri also shares a slice of her self-employed...

  14. Ep. 44: Burque Noir Founder Ebony Isis Booth

    We're back with our second episode of 2018, featuring a fantastic conversation with Burque Noir founder Ebony Isis Booth! Peri and Eph Sharpe chat with Ebony about how she created a showcase for Black performers in Albuquerque, and how she balances the many different identities — poet, organizer,...

  15. Ep. 43: Indie Cinema Owner Keif Henley & Storyteller James Judd

    The mimosas are cold, the burritos hot, and Self-Employed Happy Hour is back! In this episode Peri welcomes a new co-host, artist and emcee Eph Sharpe, plus talks with Keif Henley, the owner of The Guild Cinema, Albuquerque's last indie cinema, about how to stay indie in a megaplex world. AND…

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  16. Eric Griego, State Director, New Mexico Working Families Party

    Host Peri Pakroo is back at the podcast mic, processing the 2016 election and figuring out how to fit political organizing into her self-employed life. In this episode she interviews Eric Griego, longtime progressive politician and organizer who has served on Albuquerque's City Council and the…

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  17. Eph Sharpe, Musician / Artist / Creative Entrepreneur

    Host Peri Pakroo is back at the mic with more tales from the self-employed front. She interviews Collin Troy, a.k.a. Eph Sharpe, known to hip hop fans for his work with 2bers, but who also has a crap-ton of other creative ventures on his plate, including a new solo music project called Factory on...

  18. Adventures in Landlording, Plus Jessamyn Lovell and Little Bobby Tucker

    Business author and Pyragraph Publisher/Editor Peri Pakroo takes a break from her crash course in landlording to share more tales from the self-employed front. She interviews glitter-dusted musician and practicing Buddhist Little Bobby Tucker about this particularly surreal and scary political...

  19. Very Special Summer Episode with Roxanne Blair and Nancy Zastudil

    Peri Pakroo returns to the dining room podcasting studio with more tales from the self-employed front, including an interview with social media strategist Roxanne Blair, and gallery owner Nancy Zastudil. Peri shares the latest news from her creative career magazine, Pyragraph, including their...

  20. Keshet Ideas and Innovation Center, and The Loan Fund

    For the past year and a half, Albuquerque's beloved dance studio Keshet has been running a new arm of operations: the Keshet Ideas and Innovation Center (KIIC), a nonprofit arts incubator providing education, mentorship and rental space opportunities to local artists. KIIC's Program Coordinator...

  21. Roberto Appicciafoco, Founder of the Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

    Roberto Appicciafoco turned his love for film into a career as a film festival organizer and curator, most notably as the Founder and Festival Director of the Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (SWGLFF). On the eve of the 13th annual fest, running Oct. 9 to 18 in Albuquerque, New Mexico,...

  22. Season Finale & Awkward Office Party

    Just in time for summer vacay, we wrap our second season of Self-Employed Happy Hour by inviting all our guests from this season (plus a few more) and popping open the bubbly for a Season Finale & Awkward Office Party. We're joined by Ashlee Renz-Hotz, Roxanne Blair, Jared Tarbell, Erin Phillips,...

  23. Antonia and Cherie Montoya, Sisters & Entrepreneurs

    Sisters Antonia and Cherie Montoya are like a microcosm of creative self-employment. Antonia is the founder of Our Gratitude Collective, runs a wellness and gratitude coaching business, and has played music both solo and in various band projects for many years. Cherie is the owner of Farm &…

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  24. Roxanne Blair, Director of Programs at Creative Startups

    Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably noticed there's an awful lot of buzz around creative industries and entrepreneurship. As Director of Programs for the business accelerator Creative Startups, Roxanne Blair is squarely in the middle of this phenomenon. She joins us in the...

  25. Rusty Rutherford

    Comedy lovers in Albuquerque may know him as their favorite and funniest baby in diapers, but Rusty Rutherford has a few other acts up his sleeve. Besides doing stand-up comedy and organizing/hosting events like the Third Thursday Comedy Contest at Tractor Brewing, Rusty also recently founded…

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  26. Lori Patton, Graphic Designer and President of AIGA NM

    As a freelance graphic designer and principal of Design5sixty4, Lori Patton knows her way around design. In addition she is President of AIGA New Mexico, the professional association for designers in the state, so Lori has excellent insight into what it takes to make it in the saturated design...

  27. After Hours with Jeremy Kinter and Josh Stuyvesant

    This week's podcast is a little different. Pyragraph Publisher and Editor Peri Pakroo was deep in No Rooz mode, getting ready for Persian New Year—which is today, March 20 at 4:45pm MT. (Happy new year everyone!) So Peri turned hosting duties over to Contributing Editors Jeremy Kinter and Josh...

  28. Skye Devore, Co-Owner of Tractor Brewing Co.

    "When most people are growing up, they don't say to themselves, 'I'm going to work in a brewery some day!'" This observation from Skye Devore (who clearly didn't watch "Laverne and Shirley" as a wee lass) was true for herself, yet by various twists and turns she is now the co-owner of Tractor...

  29. Women & Creativity: Shelle Sanchez, Julia Mandeville & Valerie Martinez

    During the month of March 2015, more than 70 events will take place in Albuquerque and Santa Fe as part of the 10th annual Women & Creativity, an event celebrating creative women across the spectrum. The event was founded by arts consultant Shelle Sanchez and is co-coordinated by Valerie Martinez...

  30. Wes Naman & Joy Godfrey

    Freshly home from Japan, photographer Wes Naman joins us with his assistant photographer Joy Godfrey to help us kick off Thursday morning with mimosas aplenty and the backstories behind some of their most excellent photographic adventures and projects. Besides sharing the insanity of their recent...

  31. Actor Ashlee Renz-Hotz

    New York-based actor and writer Ashlee Renz-Hotz is neck-deep in creative work. She joined us in the Pyragraph studio to chat about her work on stage and in film, her post-apocalpytic Greek tragedy screenplay, living and studying in England and Australia, and whether 50 Shades of Grey is worth…

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  32. Pyragraph Turns 2!

    You may or may not know that Self-Employed Happy Hour is produced by Pyragraph, an online creative career magazine for creatives worldwide. It's Pyragraph's second birthday, so we thought it would be a grand idea for Pyragraph's founder Peri Pakroo to chat with the other editors and core…

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  33. Zach Sutton, Photographer

    Zach Sutton has built his professional photography business not just on crack photog skills, but by becoming an in-demand writer and speaker about photography as well. We share mimosas and burritos with Zach at the Pyragraph studio to talk about his client work, his writing gig at Fstoppers, his...

  34. MorningStar Angeline & Kevin Pierce of Drunktown's Finest

    Actor MorningStar Angeline and Production Designer Kevin Pierce join us in the Pyragraph studio to chat about their film Drunktown's Finest, about life in and around Gallup, New Mexico. Writer and director Sydney Freeland calls in from Sundance to talk about the long screenwriting process and how...

  35. Hannah Kauffmann, Erin Phillips and Shastyn Friedman of Revolutions International Theater Festival & Tricklock Company

    The 15th annual Revolutions International Theater Festival, put on by Tricklock Company, is just getting underway, bringing incredible productions from all around the world to Albuquerque for a 3-week orgy of theater! Tricklock's Hannah Kauffmann, Erin Phillips and Shastyn Friedman come to the...

  36. Awkward Holiday Office Party & Season Finale!

    To close out the year we figured why not throw a party—hell, why not our very own Awkward Holiday Office Party for us creatively self-employed? We went and did it—and what a party it was! We invited everyone who appeared on the show this season—plus new guests Andy Lyman and Adrian Toto from The...

  37. Crispin Hellion Glover

    All-around creative volcano Crispin Hellion Glover (Willard, River's Edge, Rubin & Ed, Back to the Future) lays it down on how to be an independent artist in a corporate funded world. In this extended interview we chat about his self-financed films (What Is It? and It Is Fine! Everything Is…

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  38. Beth Moore-Love, Painter and Subject of LOVE: The Art of Beth Moore-Love

    Beth Moore-Love paints amazing, disturbing, reality-shattering artworks. Documentary filmmaker Larry Wessel made a film about her, LOVE: The Art of Beth Moore-Love, which is currently showing across the US. Beth joins us at the Pyragraph studio to talk about her work, her evolution as an artist,...

  39. Matie Fricker and Molly Adler of Self-Serve Toys, and Keif Henley of The Guild Cinema

    Sex shop talk! Owners of Self-Serve Toys/Sexuality Resource Center Molly Adler and Matie Fricker chat about starting and running a progressive, sex-positive adult business in Albuquerque. They also share the history of Pornotopia, the adult film festival they founded in 2007, and what's on the…

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  40. Len Romano of Ripe Inc.

    Think you understand how to develop a winning brand? Len Romano—who along with his wife Donna founded the award-winning marketing and branding design firm Ripe Inc.—takes us into the mind of marketing, how Ripe went about creating Marble Brewery's new look, how Albuquerque seduced him and his…

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  41. Sarah Biondi of OAC Gallery

    How do you find your way through the brambles of online galleries to find the one that offers what you're looking for—as a buyer, or as an artist? OAC Gallery founder Sarah Biondi talks about starting an online contemporary art gallery, the business of art consultants, and her background in the...

  42. Emily Best of Seed&Spark

    We get to the raw, bloody heart of filmmaking today. Emily Best of Seed&Spark, a crowdfunding and streaming distribution platform for independent filmmakers, talks about her new magazine Bright Ideas, adventures in filmmaking, and why artists are more crucial now today than ever. Catch her on her...

  43. Stranger Factory's Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters

    Commercial sensibilities combined with artistic imagination equal workable success! Artists Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters, founders of Stranger Factory, join us to talk about the art business, running a gallery, the history of Stranger Factory and Circus Posterus, Kathie and Brandt's personal...

  44. Roundtable Special: Editor/Writer-Types Talk Shop

    Hey, you gonna smoke that? Editors from Pyragraph, Humbird and Nightly Noodle Monthly gather at Pyragraph Studios to talk about Albuquerque's writing scene, art-career author Jackie Battenfield, writer Mike Smith, and other people and happenings in our writers' worlds. We also chat with call-in...

  45. Billy McCall, writer, musician, croupier & Zine Olympics officiant

    I know Billy! Billy McCall joins us to talk about refereeing the imminent Zine Olympics at ABQ Zine Fest, his band Rudest Priest, pinball, stories from the casino floor and so much more! Host Peri Pakroo is joined by Pyragraph Contributing Editors Josh Stuyvesant and Jeremy Kinter and…

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  46. Eryn Bent, singer-songwriter and songstress in red

    Eryn Bent is a fiery singer-songwriter who plays indie folk originals with both power and softness. Eryn joins us to chat about being an independent musician, recording her latest album Firefly, and building her music career one lesson at a time. She sings some gorgeous songs for us to boot. Host...

  47. Eric Renz-Whitmore of NM Technology Council, One Million Cups and More

    Eric Renz-Whitmore is a ninja-level organizer, networker and promoter within Albuquerque's tech scene, and just wrapped an amazing Tech Fiesta ABQ week. He is Community Manager at the NM Technology Council, Organizer at One Million Cups, and Organizer at Startup Weekend New Mexico. We chat about...

  48. Kendra Crooks and Austin Madrid, photographers with JAK Media

    Kendra Crooks and Austin Madrid are a year into their photography business, JAK Media, and besides developing an impressive reputation and body of work, they've also gone through ownership changes and are in the middle of a rebranding campaign. They share their story and lessons learned with...

  49. Sam Miller is Back in Town

    Fresh off the plane from a summer in Europe playing backup in another band's tour, Sam Miller comes to the Pyragraph Studios to shake off his jet lag with mimosas and breakfast burritos. He tells us about the recording of his debut solo album You Need to Hear It, how he uses social media…

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  50. REBOOT: Self-Employed Happy Hour Is Back!

    After a two-year hiatus, we are re-booting Self-Employed Happy Hour! Host Peri Pakroo is now Publisher and Editor of creative career magazine Pyragraph, so her co-hosts, guests and topics will focus on creative careers and the many ways creative workers manage self-employment. In this Reboot...

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

Self-employment author and coach Peri Pakroo chats with guests about working for themselves, whether that's freelancing, running a coffee shop or heading a corporate empire. Peri and rotating co-hosts also interview artists, musicians and other creative workers who share stories about pursuing their projects and careers. We celebrate and illuminate the many sides of self-employed life and business, including related topics like road-tripping, thrift shopping and procrastinating. Any hour can be happy hour when you're self-employed. :)

HOSTED BY

Peri Pakroo

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Self-Employed Happy Hour have?

Self-Employed Happy Hour currently has 57 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Self-Employed Happy Hour about?

Self-employment author and coach Peri Pakroo chats with guests about working for themselves, whether that's freelancing, running a coffee shop or heading a corporate empire. Peri and rotating co-hosts also interview artists, musicians and other creative workers who share stories about pursuing...

How often does Self-Employed Happy Hour release new episodes?

Self-Employed Happy Hour has 57 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Self-Employed Happy Hour?

You can listen to Self-Employed Happy Hour on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Self-Employed Happy Hour?

Self-Employed Happy Hour is created and hosted by Peri Pakroo.
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