The Messy Success Podcast
by Elizabeth Henson
Welcome to the Messy Success Podcast. Our host, Elizabeth Henson, is an expert in community based marketing with a focus on leadership and self development. She helps entrepreneurs, artists, and creative leaders grow and scale communities so that marketing is easy. She used her experience helping seven figure business owners to build out her own unique methodology in community building and marketing. The Messy Success Podcast combines business tips and real life experiences in being a creative entrepreneur. This podcast will leave you feeling confident, and normalizes the day to day struggles we all experience as business owners. We can't wait to connect with you!
Episodes
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259: Why Most Creative Businesses Fail: You Stop Before People Find You
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. In this solo episode, Elizabeth shares why creative businesses fail and why she believes it has far less to do with a bad product or bad marketing than most owners think. She walks through her own failed ideas, from digital scans on Etsy to stock...
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258: Invisible Work in Business: Why the Parts Nobody Sees Matter Most
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. Elizabeth spent six hours doing work in her business that not a single person will ever know about, and she thinks that is a beautiful thing. In this short, recorded-on-the-go episode, she reflects on the behind the scenes work that rarely gets applause:...
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257: The Coaching Industry Is Getting Called Out! My honest take...
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. Today's episode is a candid conversation about the coaching industry, including the pricing debates, the pyramid scheme chatter, and what to do if all the online buzz has you feeling skeptical about hiring a coach. Elizabeth is a full-time business…
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256: The Next Big Marketing Opportunity Isn't AI
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. In this episode, Elizabeth shares why the biggest marketing trends 2027 has in store are not about AI, but about human connection in marketing and giving people the experience of you. As we step into the fourth quarter of 2026, she is already looking…
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255: Make More Money Working Less: What Changed When I Stopped Rushing
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. In this solo episode, Elizabeth explores what it looks like to make more money working less, and why staying out of the weeds might be one of the most powerful shifts you can make in your business. She shares what she has noticed since building her days...
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254: Buy Back Your Time: How I Turn Everyday Purchases Into ROI
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. This episode is all about a time versus money mindset, and how the small decisions you make every day either buy you time or cost you time. It started with something Elizabeth overheard at her local coffee shop during her weekly CEO hour, a comment about...
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253: Dealing with Rejection in Business: Moving Through It Instead of Around It
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. Some weeks hand you all the rejection at once. This is one of those episodes. Elizabeth shares what it looked like to sit with a string of no's in her business, the old story it stirred up from childhood, and why she's chosen to see it as evidence she's...
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252: Doing the Big Scary Thing: What It Actually Takes to Go All In with Candice West
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. Today's episode is all about doing the big scary thing, and Elizabeth sits down with her friend Candice West, an advanced practice nurse, somatic practitioner, and founder of The Soma Center, who is producing her first ever live performance, Permission...
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251: When Your Systems Fail: A Behind-the-Scenes Summer Debrief
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. This week's episode is a summer debrief, and it starts with a confession: Elizabeth's morning walk routine, the one she loved so much last year, lasted about a week this summer before it quietly fell apart. Instead of glossing over that, she uses it as a...
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250: Live Group Coaching Call: A Real, Unfiltered Peek of Our Community
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. This episode is a little different. Instead of a solo teaching episode, you're getting a real, unfiltered look inside a bonus group coaching call from Elizabeth's program, Elevate. It's an honest look at what it actually takes when you're growing your...
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249: Understanding Customer Pain Points: My exact method, and what not to do!
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. In this episode, Elizabeth breaks down her personal framework for understanding customer pain points, the exact process she uses to connect with her audience and clients without ever making assumptions about what they're struggling with. She kicks things...
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248: The Hardest Part about Being a Business Coach. What Most People Miss....
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. This week Elizabeth is talking about the real difference between opportunity vs circumstance, and why so many people stay stuck one decision away from the life they say they want. After ten years of coaching entrepreneurs, Elizabeth has noticed a…
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247: When to Collaborate in Business (And When to Say No)
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. If your calendar is filling up with collaboration requests and your revenue isn't following, this episode is for you. Elizabeth breaks down when to collaborate in business, when to say no, and why there's a specific growth phase where accepting every...
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246: The Competitive Advantage in Business: How to Give People the Experience of You
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. This week Elizabeth is talking about the real competitive advantage in business, and it has nothing to do with a fancy funnel, strategy, or system. Inspired by the viral Yap Challenge and a coaching call inside her signature program, she breaks down why...
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245: Posting Every Day With No Sales: What You're Actually Missing
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. If you've been posting content and getting no results, you are not alone, and today Elizabeth is challenging the whole way you're measuring "working." This episode is for the creative entrepreneur who is showing up online every day, hearing crickets, and...
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244: Business Built Around Your Life: A Personal Story About Friendship and Saying Yes
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. This week's episode is a personal story about what it really means to have a business built around your life, one that lets you say yes to the people and moments that matter most, even when they show up without warning. Elizabeth shares the story of...
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243: The Habit That's Quietly Holding You Back From Your Next Breakthrough
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. This week Elizabeth is talking about one of the most expensive habits in business, and it has nothing to do with money. It is waiting. Waiting for the right time, waiting for more confidence, waiting for life to calm down before taking action. This…
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242: When Your Dream No Longer Fits: A Raw Story from Jennie Tack
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast, where we get honest about the messy middle of building something that actually means something to you. This episode is something a little different, and honestly, something really special. Jenny Tack, owner of Hex and Hair in Hampton Roads and host of…
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241: How to Make Big Decisions in Your Business (Using One Simple Question)
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast! In this episode, Elizabeth is coming to you live from her brand new podcast studio, and she's got a lot to celebrate and a lot to share. This is a behind-the-scenes catch-up episode centered around one powerful question that Elizabeth's mastermind coach...
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240: Grow Your Business on TikTok with Will Harris: The Live Strategy That Made $500K in 6 Months
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast, and this one is a good one. If you've ever struggled to show up online the way you show up in a room full of people, this episode is going to feel like a direct answer to that problem. Elizabeth sits down with Will Harris, founder of Fitness Beyond 40…
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239: Building Annual Events That Scale: Behind the Scenes of Elevate and Inspire 2026
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast, where we pull back the curtain on what it actually looks like to build a business over time. This episode is a full debrief of Elizabeth's third annual in-person event, Elevate and Inspire 2026, and it is one of the most honest and useful conversations…
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238: Mundane Magic: How to Turn Everyday Chores into a Daily Practice You Actually Enjoy with bestselling author Molly Donlan
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast! This week Elizabeth is sitting down with Reiki master, bestselling author, and all-around magical human Molly Donlan to talk about her book Mundane Magic, a lazy witch's guide to hacking your brain, building a daily practice, and actually getting stuff...
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237: Sponsorships for Small Businesses: What's Actually Possible When You Stop Pitching Wrong
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast! This week, Elizabeth is sitting down with sponsorship coach and author Justin Moore of Creator Wizard to talk about what sponsorships are, why so many small businesses and creators are leaving money on the table, and how to completely change the way you...
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236: The Power of Presence, Energy Work, and Self Trust with Rocky Kitzmiller
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. Today's conversation is one of those episodes that feels both deeply grounding and expansive at the same time. Elizabeth is joined again by transformational guide, hypnotherapist, Reiki master, and meditation teacher Rocky from Tune Into Wellness for a...
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235: From $40 in the Bank to Six Figures and What Came After
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. Today's episode is one of those honest, behind the scenes conversations that reminds you what building a business really looks like. Elizabeth sits down with business coach and creative strategist Hannah Boeck to talk about the full journey… from being...
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234: The Smarter Way to Grow: Systems, Content, and Letting Your Audience Lead
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. This conversation felt like one of those moments where everything just clicks into place. Doc Williams joined me to talk about YouTube, tech, and building a business that actually works… but what we really got into was something deeper. How to stop...
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233: How to Create an Experience People Can't Stop Talking About
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. Today we're talking about something that most people think they already have figured out, but it might be the very thing holding your business back. Client experience. Instead of asking "how can I get more clients," this episode invites you into a...
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232: The Truth About Failure, Pricing, and Building Something Bigger
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. This episode is a special one for the big visionaries. The ones who know they are meant for more, even if they cannot fully explain what that looks like yet. Elizabeth sits down with her mastermind coach, Darrell Vesterfelt, for an unfiltered, unscripted...
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231: The Missing Piece in Your Marketing Might Be Your Story
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. If your marketing has been feeling off lately or you're second guessing what to say, this episode is your reset. Today, Elizabeth is breaking down why storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you already have and how it can completely shift the way...
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230: Stop Performing and Start Leading Your Audience
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. Today's episode is a continuation of a conversation that is changing the way we think about marketing, visibility, and growth. If social media is shifting into interest media, then the real question becomes… how do you show up in a way that actually...
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229: How to Host Your First Event Without Overthinking It
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. In this episode, Elizabeth is breaking down one of the most powerful and underutilized strategies for business growth in 2026: hosting in person events. If you have been thinking about hosting a workshop, meetup, or retreat but keep getting stuck in the...
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228: Social Media vs Interest Media: The Shift Entrepreneurs Need to Understand
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. In this episode, Elizabeth shares a realization that many entrepreneurs are starting to feel but may not have put into words yet. Social media is changing, and the way content gets discovered is shifting with it. Instead of follower based feeds…
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227: Showing Up at 60 Percent and Still Moving Forward
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. In this episode, Elizabeth shares a real behind the scenes look at the past few weeks of navigating illness while still running a business, leading a community, and preparing for big things ahead. After nearly five weeks of not feeling 100 percent, she...
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226: From Burnout to Cloning Your Genius with Alisa Kay
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. Elizabeth sits down with messaging strategist, storytelling expert, and fractional CMO Alisa Kay, a featured speaker at Elevate and Inspire. Known for blending psychology, AI strategy, and narrative frameworks, Alisa helps established coaches and service...
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225: 90 Day Planning for Creative Entrepreneurs Who Want More Freedom
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. Today we are getting strategic. Quarterly planning is not new. Ninety day goals are not revolutionary. But the way you execute them can change everything. In this episode, Elizabeth walks you through exactly how she structures her 12 week goals, how she...
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224: The Ego Death No One Talks About in Business
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast…What if getting sick is not just about being sick? In this episode, Elizabeth shares a reflection on coming off a powerful January, stepping into unexpected expansion for 2026, and then being taken down hard by the flu. What unfolded wasn't just a…
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223: The Marketing Ecosystem That Works Without Chasing Algorithms
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. In this episode, Elizabeth is pulling back the curtain on a surprising milestone. January became her highest non event revenue month ever, with only 13 Instagram posts and very little engagement. This conversation is a powerful reminder that social media...
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222: Why Instagram Isn't the Business (And What Actually Is)
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. This episode is a behind-the-scenes look at how Elizabeth is approaching visibility, community, and growth differently as she plans for the year ahead. Instead of chasing platforms or algorithms, she's focused on building an ecosystem, one rooted in...
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221: Teaching Is a Skill: The Gap Costing Creatives Money and Credibility with Laylee Emadi
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast… Just because you're exceptional at your craft doesn't automatically mean you're ready to teach it—and in the creative industry, that gap is quietly costing people money, credibility, and opportunity. In this episode, Elizabeth sits down with educator,...
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220: Micro Actions, Big Trust: A live Coaching Session on Growth
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast… In today's episode, Elizabeth is sharing a full Coaching On Air session with someone very special—her creative director, Illiah. This conversation is slow, intentional, and deeply honest as Illiah opens up about taking a job after years of...
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219: What It's Really Like to Go From Solopreneur to Employees (With Misty Prewitt)
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. In this episode, Elizabeth sits down with Misty Prewitt, founder of Misty Saves the Day, for an honest conversation about what it really looks like to scale a business from one person to a team of 12. Misty shares her journey from starting out as a...
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218: Why Your Advice Isn't Landing (And What to Do Instead)
Welcome back to The Messy Success Podcast! In this short and powerful episode, Elizabeth shares a metaphor that dropped in during a moment of deep self-awareness: the difference between being a mirror and being a container. Understanding the difference between these two roles — and knowing when…
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217: Dreamiest Dreams for 2026: Speaking It Into Existence
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast, where dreaming big isn't just encouraged — it's required. In today's episode, Elizabeth is sharing one of her favorite rituals of the year: her Dreamiest Dreams for 2026. These are the visions that feel bold, stretchy, a little scary to say out loud… but...
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216: Create Highly Magnetic Offers With This 3-Part Framework
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast! In this episode, Elizabeth breaks down the three essential ingredients every offer needs to actually convert — whether you're creating something brand new or refining an offer you've had for years. If you've ever wondered why an offer didn't land the way...
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215: The Hidden Leadership Habit That Strengthens Your Brand
Welcome back to The Messy Success Podcast! Since it's Thanksgiving week, Elizabeth is diving into gratitude—but not the fluffy, surface-level kind. This is the deeper version of gratitude that grows your business, expands your authority, and makes you more visible without forcing anything. In…
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214: How We Can Boost the Creative Economy (and Why It Matters)
What if growing your business wasn't about hustling harder—but about helping each other rise? In this episode, Elizabeth pulls back the curtain on her newest passion project: The Elevate Economy, a bold experiment to prove that community really is currency. You'll hear how one comment after her...
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213: Stop Forcing Growth — Do this Instead
Welcome back to The Messy Success Podcast! We're doing something a little different today — our very first rebroadcast of a listener favorite. Why? Because great content doesn't expire, and sometimes we need to hear a powerful message at a new stage in our growth. In this refreshed conversation,...
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212: Money That Feels Magical: How to Know Your Numbers with Megan Hale
If spreadsheets make you sweat (yes, you're not alone), but you're still dreaming of a wildly profitable business—this episode is for you. Elizabeth sits down with Megan Hale, CEO & Founder of DreamMoney™, a strategic business-planning platform that helps solo entrepreneurs know their numbers…
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211: How to Boost Your Energy and Balance Your Hormones (Without Diet Culture!) with Kate Gregory
If you've ever wondered why you're so tired even after a full night's sleep—or why your doctor keeps saying your labs are "normal"—this episode is your new favorite. Elizabeth is joined by holistic hormone expert Kate Gregory for a real conversation about what's really happening with women's…
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210: Breaking the Freeze Cycle and Making Your First Offer
Welcome back to The Messy Success Podcast! In this first-ever on-air coaching episode, Elizabeth sits down with Jen Hastert, a wellness coach who's passionate about helping women uncover the root causes of disease. Together, they unpack the mindset and action steps needed to move from planning to...
About this show
Welcome to the Messy Success Podcast. Our host, Elizabeth Henson, is an expert in community based marketing with a focus on leadership and self development. She helps entrepreneurs, artists, and creative leaders grow and scale communities so that marketing is easy. She used her experience helping seven figure business owners to build out her own unique methodology in community building and marketing. The Messy Success Podcast combines business tips and real life experiences in being a creative entrepreneur. This podcast will leave you feeling confident, and normalizes the day to day struggles we all experience as business owners. We can't wait to connect with you!
Hosted by
Elizabeth Henson
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