Better Way To Build with Shay Cochrane

There is a subtle pressure that says if you're not scaling, you're not a real entrepreneur — and this episode is going to turn that on its head.   Shay sits back down with her husband Graham Cochrane for their most personal conversation yet: what happened when they spent several years chasing the growth that everyone around them was chasing, what the complexity actually cost them, and why they're now intentionally unwinding much of it to get back to what they actually want to optimize for — peace, margin, simplicity, and the feeling that they've already won. Graham walks through the honest math of complexity (four properties, a fractional family office, team hires, paid ads, and a wellness Airbnb that seemed like a great investment until someone stole the houseplants), and Shay shares what it's looked like to build three businesses in sixteen hours a week while always feeling like she doesn't quite count as a serious entrepreneur.   If you've been chasing a number that keeps moving, this episode is permission to set your enough point and mean it.   Chapters   00:00 Introduction: Rethinking Success in Entrepreneurship 01:58 The Pressure to Scale and Its Insidious Nature 04:03 Graham's Entrepreneurial Journey from Small Goals to Multi-Millions 09:54 The Shift from Growth to Simplicity and Peace 15:10 The Influence of Mastermind Rooms and External Validation 20:11 The Cost of Growth: Complexity and Loss of Peace 24:59 Aligning Business Goals with Personal Values 29:59 Decisions to Unwind Complexity and Focus on What Matters 39:49 The Power of Enough: Setting Financial and Life Boundaries 45:00 Living a Life of Joy, Margin, and Purpose 50:10 Final Reflections: Redefining Winning and Success Ilūme Network is a faith-based, application-only, entrepreneurial network for 6-8 figure Christian female entrepreneurs who want mentorship from women ahead of them in business, peer support and accountability from value-aligned women at their level, a deeper, more vibrant partnership with God in business and a room where the conversations go beyond revenue and goals to how you are really doing in the rest of life. Find out more at www.ilumenetwork.com.   Join the Ilume Network: https://www.ilumenetwork.com/ Get a preview of the mentorship inside Ilūme: https://www.ilumenetwork.com/growth  Follow Shay: https://www.instagram.com/shaycochrane/ Follow Ilūme Network: https://www.instagram.com/ilumenetwork/

If you can't put your phone down, can't take a day off, and feel like the whole thing would dry up without you — this episode names exactly what's happening.   Shay unpacks one of the most clarifying biblical frameworks for entrepreneurship she's found: the contrast in Deuteronomy 11 between Egypt farming and Promised Land farming. In Egypt, you sustain everything manually — if you stop watering for even a day, it dies. In the Promised Land, God's eye is on it from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, and He provides the rain. She applies that contrast directly to two ways of building a business, names the signs that you're operating in Egypt mode even if your business looks successful from the outside, and shows what it looks like to resurrender it to the God who actually wants to be in the weeds with you.   It is not too late to invite God into what you've already built — and this episode shows you how to start today.   Chapters   00:00 Introduction: The internal struggle of entrepreneurs 01:07 The challenge of disconnecting from work 03:01 Visualizing the desert and lush greenery 04:22 The Israelites' farming in the desert 06:30 The Egypt way vs. the promised land way 07:00 God as the true source of growth 08:44 Partnering with God in business 10:11 Building businesses that look successful externally but feel like Egypt internally 11:28 Asking God about your business decisions 15:07 A personal story of divine guidance in hiring 17:35 Re-surrendering your business to God 20:12 Praying for divine guidance and alignment 21:40 Encouragement to trust God's plan and share the message   Ilūme Network is a faith-based, application-only, entrepreneurial network for 6-8 figure Christian female entrepreneurs who want mentorship from women ahead of them in business, peer support and accountability from value-aligned women at their level, a deeper, more vibrant partnership with God in business and a room where the conversations go beyond revenue and goals to how you are really doing in the rest of life. Find out more at www.ilumenetwork.com.   Join the Ilume Network: https://www.ilumenetwork.com/ Get a preview of the mentorship inside Ilūme: https://www.ilumenetwork.com/growth  Follow Shay: https://www.instagram.com/shaycochrane/ Follow Ilūme Network: https://www.instagram.com/ilumenetwork/

If you've been looking for a woman who has built something wildly successful while protecting her marriage, her kids, her health, and her faith — this is the episode you've been waiting for.   Shay sits down with Robin Long, founder of Lindywell, a Pilates and wellness app serving tens of thousands of women in more than 80 countries, for one of the most honest and grounding conversations this podcast has had. Robin walks through what mentorship has looked like across 11 years of building — from her first coach who nudged her to get on video, to a $30,000 mastermind she almost didn't join that changed everything — and what it's looked like to learn to hear God's voice when it was asking her to do something she didn't expect, including scaling her team back down. She and Shay talk about loneliness in entrepreneurship, protecting marriage when you and your spouse both work in the business, leading a team of mostly moms on a four-day work week, and what it actually looks like to trust God with the outcome when you have employees depending on you.   If you've ever felt too ambitious for your faith circles and too faith-forward for your business circles — this episode is proof you're not alone, and Robin Long is a woman worth emulating in both.   Robin Long is the Founder, CEO, and Lead Instructor of Lindywell, a global wellness platform that reaches millions of women in more than a hundred countries around the world.    Robin pioneered bringing pilates to the online space, making her teaching inclusive and affordable; in 2022, Women's Health named the Lindywell the best pilates app of the year. She is also a mom of four and the author of the number one selling Pilates book on Amazon, "Well to the Core."   Robin is transforming lives with her "Grace Over Guilt" approach, helping women care for their well-being so they can live life to the fullest.   Chapters   00:00 Introduction to Robin Long and her journey 03:20 Robin shares her background and mission with Lindywell 05:48 The team and partnership dynamics at Lindywell 08:16 Robin's entrepreneurial beginnings and mentorship experiences 11:23 The role of mentorship in breaking through ceilings 16:22 Seasons of growth and seeking peer support 22:19 The church's view on female entrepreneurs and ambition 23:50 Partnering with God in business: practical insights 28:50 Trusting divine guidance during hard decisions 32:25 The balance of success, sacrifice, and values 37:13 Protecting family and values while leading a large company 43:29 Robin's approach to marriage and business partnership 44:24 Robin's resources: social media, book, and wellness platform   Ilūme Network is a faith-based, application-only, entrepreneurial network for 6-8 figure Christian female entrepreneurs who want mentorship from women ahead of them in business, peer support and accountability from value-aligned women at their level, a deeper, more vibrant partnership with God in business and a room where the conversations go beyond revenue and goals to how you are really doing in the rest of life. Find out more at www.ilumenetwork.com.   Join the Ilume Network: https://www.ilumenetwork.com/ Get a preview of the mentorship inside Ilūme: https://www.ilumenetwork.com/growth  Follow Shay: https://www.instagram.com/shaycochrane/ Follow Ilūme Network: https://www.instagram.com/ilumenetwork/

If your business feels like it's in crisis right now, this episode will reframe everything about what that actually means.   Shay makes the case from Scripture that crisis isn't a sign of God's absence — it's one of the primary settings where He shows up miraculously. Walking through the Red Sea, the widow's oil, Shadrach and his friends in the furnace, Lazarus — she traces the pattern that biblical miracles almost always happen at the point of human impossibility, then applies it directly to the hard seasons every entrepreneur faces. She shares her own story of stepping out in obedience to church plant in Florida, ending up on food stamps, and how that desperate season became the birthplace of everything God built next.   Whatever you've been holding out for in your business — this episode is your invitation to open your hands and trust what's possible on the other side of the hard.   Chapters   00:00 Introduction: Miracles in Difficult Seasons 01:55 Personal Stories of Miracles and Faith 04:13 Biblical Examples of Miracles in Crisis 08:02 Why Miracles Often Happen in Intense Circumstances 10:53 Dependence on God in Wilderness and Crisis 13:10 Strength in Weakness and God's Power 15:15 Obedience as a Pathway to Miracles 18:00 Obedience in Challenging Situations 19:46 Encouragement to Trust and Surrender 24:05 Prayers and Blessings for Difficult Seasons   Ilūme Network is a faith-based, application-only, entrepreneurial network for 6-8 figure Christian female entrepreneurs who want mentorship from women ahead of them in business, peer support and accountability from value-aligned women at their level, a deeper, more vibrant partnership with God in business and a room where the conversations go beyond revenue and goals to how you are really doing in the rest of life. Find out more at www.ilumenetwork.com.   Join the Ilume Network: https://www.ilumenetwork.com/ Get a preview of the mentorship inside Ilūme: https://www.ilumenetwork.com/growth  Follow Shay: https://www.instagram.com/shaycochrane/ Follow Ilūme Network: https://www.instagram.com/ilumenetwork

Your goals may not be where you hoped — and this episode will give you permission to be proud of yourself anyway.   One year after publicly announcing Ilūme Network, Shay sits down for an honest personal reflection on what building something new has actually looked like: the insecurities she didn't expect, the goals she hasn't hit, the things God confirmed before she even started, and why she keeps throttling back growth to protect her marriage, her kids, and the season she's in. This isn't a highlight reel — it's the real internal processing of an entrepreneur who's surrendering pace and outcome to the Lord and learning what it means to adventure with Him even when the path is foggy.   Wherever you are in your building journey heading into Q4, this episode is your invitation to look back, acknowledge what you've done, and tell yourself you're proud.   Chapters   00:00 Facing Personal Narratives and Limiting Beliefs 03:42 Reflecting on a Year of Building and Launching 07:46 The Revelation of Building a National Christian Women's Entrepreneurial Network 11:02 Trusting God's Provision and Timing 14:17 Overcoming Insecurity and Embracing Limitations 17:10 Celebrating a Year of Growth and God's Faithfulness 18:07 Challenges of Showing Up on Camera and Content Creation 19:01 Balancing Excellence and Imperfection in Content 20:27 Leaning Into Uniqueness and Authenticity 22:22 Measuring Effectiveness and Impact in Business 23:50 Balancing Family, Capacity, and Business Growth 24:47 Working on Personal Narratives and Self-Belief 26:07 Upcoming In-Person Event and Community Retreats 28:25 Building Community Through In-Person Connections 29:51 Inviting Women to Join the Loom Network 30:46 Future Plans for Regional Gatherings and Retreats 33:30 God's Provision and Support in Building the Network 34:42 Encouragement to Celebrate Progress and Trust God's Timing 39:01 Adventuring with the Lord in Entrepreneurship 43:24 Prayers for Blessing, Presence, and Deep Love for God's Word   Ilūme Network is a faith-based, application-only, entrepreneurial network for 6-8 figure Christian female entrepreneurs who want mentorship from women ahead of them in business, peer support and accountability from value-aligned women at their level, a deeper, more vibrant partnership with God in business and a room where the conversations go beyond revenue and goals to how you are really doing in the rest of life. Find out more at www.ilumenetwork.com.   Join the Ilume Network: https://www.ilumenetwork.com/ Get a preview of the mentorship inside Ilūme: https://www.ilumenetwork.com/growth  Follow Shay: https://www.instagram.com/shaycochrane/ Follow Ilūme Network: https://www.instagram.com/ilumenetwork/