And That's a Wrap

Five years. 109 episodes. More conversations than I ever imagined when I hit record for the first time back in 2021.

This is the final episode of Here's What I Learned... and honestly, it feels exactly right.

This season was built around experiments -- intentional engagement, time tracking, group onboarding, image title SEO, and defining what "enough" actually looks like. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, I started feeling the closing of a chapter. This episode is me honoring that feeling out loud.

I'm not disappearing. The work continues. But the podcast as you know it is done, and I wanted to say thank you -- properly -- before I go.

What next?

• For updates on how this season's experiments wrapped up, follow my LinkedIn newsletter: Structure-ish
• Follow me on Instagram at @jackihayes_obm

Credits:

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Creative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0) CreativecommonsDeed - Attribution 3.0 Unported - Creative Commons

Transcript

Welcome to season 10 of Here's What I Learned. I'm Jacki Hayes, a systems and ops strategist, romantasy reader, and D&D nerd who's endlessly curious about what makes a business actually work. This season is about experiments.

Big, small, accidental, and transformative. Because every business is built on trial and error, noticing, and iteration. If you're growing a business that changes with you and you're tired of one-size-fits-all advice, you'll feel right at home.

So let's get into it. Back in March of 2021, I never imagined I'd be here. Episode 109.

Nearly five years of conversations, experiments, and lessons learned together. I didn't know that this podcast would become the bridge that connected me to such an incredible network of guests. That it would lead me to community memberships that changed how I think about business, or that it would open the door to joining the PodFox media team.

I definitely didn't imagine I'd make so many friends through this show. People I've stayed in touch with long after we stopped recording. Looking back through these 109 episodes, we've covered so much ground together.

We've talked about ditching professionalism with Becky Mullenkamp, rolling dice to make business fun with Amanda Gold, and designing for energy instead of for time with Patrician Sung. We've explored goal-setting for a whole damn vibe with Steph Wharton, doing the weird shit only you can do with Tracy Stanger, and running location-independent businesses with Bridget Baker. This season, we've experimented with intentional engagement, time tracking, group onboarding, image title SEO, and defining what enough is for us.

Every conversation, every experiment, every lesson, they've all been part of building businesses that actually fit our lives instead of the other way around. To every single guest who trusted me with their stories, their experiments, and their hard-won wisdom, thank you. You made this show what it is.

And to you, the listeners, whether you've been here since season one or just discovered the show this week, thank you for showing up, for listening, for implementing what resonated, and for being part of this community. But here's the thing. I've felt the closing of a chapter.

It's time for me to redirect this energy and time toward other parts of my business that need my attention right now, things that will help me grow in new directions. For those of you wondering how this season's experiments concluded, I'm not going to leave you hanging. I'll be writing about my experiences in my LinkedIn newsletter.

You can find the link in the show notes, and I'll make sure to tag the guests whose experiments I'm writing about when those posts go live. This isn't goodbye to the work. It's not goodbye to the conversations.

It's just goodbye to here's what I learned as a podcast. Thank you for being part of this journey with me. Keep experimenting, keep learning, keep building businesses that fit your actual life.

This is Jacki Hayes signing off one last time from Here's What I Learned. Thanks again for spending time with me on Here's What I Learned. If this episode gave you something useful to try, rethink, or explore, the best way to support the show is to follow and lead a review.

That helps more curious business owners find their way here. And if you want more real talk about the experiments that shape our businesses, plus practical doable system ideas, join my email list. I send one to two emails each week with stories, insights, and strategies that help you build a business that supports your life, not the other way around.

You'll also get updates on workshops, new offerings, and the things I'm learning as I experiment alongside you. Until next time, keep experimenting, keep paying attention to what those experiments tell you, and keep building a business that fits you.