160. She Built a $100M Freedom-Based Business and Realized Outer Freedom Was Only Half the Story with Natalie Ellis
About this episode
Kate Northrup and Natalie Ellis discuss the complexities of building a freedom-based business and the hidden costs of ambition and external validation.
What if success isn’t actually freedom? And what if the business you built to give you more life slowly became the thing consuming it? In this deeply honest conversation, Kate sits down with entrepreneur, author, and BossBabe founder Natalie Ellis to talk about ambition, motherhood, nervous system healing, identity, and what it really means to build a freedom-based business. Natalie opens up about the hidden cost of chasing external validation, the pressure of maintaining a personal brand, and the surprising realization that even after “making it,” she still found herself craving permission to feel chosen. She shares how becoming a mother reshaped her relationship with ambition, success, and even her own identity—and why she no longer believes in building a business that demands everything from the person behind it. Together, Kate and Natalie explore the tension so many ambitious women feel between growth and presence, career and motherhood, expansion and enoughness. They talk about the emotional reality of entrepreneurship, the influence of social media on our desires, and the subtle ways status and validation can quietly become the thing running the show. Natalie also shares…
People in this episode
Host: Kate Northrup
Guest: Natalie Ellis
Topics covered
- freedom-based business
- entrepreneurship
- motherhood
- identity
- ambition
- nervous system healing
- external validation
Keywords
- freedom
- entrepreneurship
- motherhood
- identity
- ambition
- nervous system
- validation
- personal brand
- social media
- emotional reality
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: BossBabe
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