Off The Grid: Leaving Social Media

Softer Sounds

Off The Grid is a podcast for artists, writers & creative business owners who want to leave social media without losing all their income. ✌️ Our host, Amelia Hruby PhD, shares stories, strategies & experiments for growing your business with radical generosity & energetic sovereignty. 🌐 Get the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit at offthegrid.fun/toolkit

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20 episodes
Updated Wednesday

Episodes20

Newest first

⚡️ Making Content, Raising Revenue & Moving Off Substack — with Lex Roman of Revenue Rulebreaker
Today we’re talking about why I left Substack! Through a conversation with the amazing Lex Roman of Revenue Rulebreaker. Together we explore: Lex’s journey from working in tech to starting an agency to launching a membership for journalists to now running an indie media company The state of small business media (& why there are so many opportunities there!) Why we’re committed to being creators even though it’s a challenging business model How Lex helped me decide to leave Substack What newsletter and podcast tools might work for you If you like this episode, please go check out the new Off the Grid Clubhouse on Ghost! 👉👉 👉 offthegrid.ghost.io Then sign up for Revenue Rulebreaker and get 20% off your paid subscription with code OFFTHEGRID 👉👉 👉 https://www.revenuerulebreaker.com/off-the-grid RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
Wednesday · 1 hr 4 min
🔒 My Q2 Biz Recap — Highs, Lows & How Much $$ I Made
Join me as I convince myself it's ok to sunset my business 😬 In this quarterly recap episode, I walk through the highs, lows, and finances of Softer Sounds & Off the Grid so far this year... And I figure out how to make the money work as I pivot my business model from service provider to content creator! Tune in to an episode preview here, and become a paid subscriber of the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse to get all the $$$ details. 👇 👇 👇 👇 When you join the Clubhouse, you'll get access to over 50 bonus episodes (and counting), curated tech + creative business newsletters, and more. Plus your own private podcast feed, comments threads, and behind-the-scenes updates on the show. Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :) RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
July 8 · 14 min
♾️ Take the Break Before the Break Takes You — Learning How to Pause & Quit with Nic Antoinette
Nic Antoinette is back to help me wrap season nine, and we’re talking about the breaks we are (and aren’t) taking this summer. Tune in to hear us unpack: Why nobody talks about the moments we don’t like our business 😬 How fear keeps us from slowing down or taking breaks 🐌 When being honest actually f*cks with your sales 📉 Different types of breaks we’ve taken and want to take ⛓️‍💥 How to figure out what’s not working and why 📍 The fantasy of the finish line 🏁 Communicating your break to your clients and/or audience 📣 Cancer scares, carpal tunnel & caffeine addiction ☕️ RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
July 1 · 1 hr 14 min
🍕 Making Money as a Creative — Strategic Planning & Social Media with Andy J Pizza
HEY HI HELLO! 🍕 Today I’m thrilled to be joined by best-selling author, super-fun illustrator, and illustrious host of Creative Pep Talk podcast, Andy J Pizza! In this upbeat conversation, we chat about: How Andy makes money as an artist The strategic choices he made to grow his podcast Why we can’t “What-Would-David-Bowie-Do” our way into a successful business Andy’s musician-model for thinking about your creative business through singles, albums, tours & merch Why you should pre-order Andy’s new book, Mysterious Things! RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
June 24 · 1 hr 1 min
✨ This One Thing Totally Transformed My Sales — Learning How to Pre-Launch with Nicole Cloutier [BEST OF]
If I had to name ONE THING that increased my sales more than anything else in the past year... It'd be learning to polish my copywriting and pre-launch my offerings with Nicole Cloutier and her class Open Loop. Open Loop is how I doubled Interweb sign-ups in 2026. Open Loop is how I made over $10k on COME TO CLASS last month. Open Loop is why I feel so confident selling this year. And that's why I'm THRILLED to share that Open Loop is happening again in July and you can hop on the waitlist right here right now! So if you'd like to make more money from your launches in 2026 and beyond... Tune in to this 'best of' episode to hear me and Nicole give you lots of free advice on how to launch anything you want to sell online. Then click this wonderful (affiliate) link to learn more about Open Loop. I hope to see you at an alum call bragging about your successful launches in the fall. ✨ RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
June 19 · 38 min
🌸 Creative Ecosystems, Community-Based Business & Breaking Up with Your Personal Brand — with Natalie Brite
Natalie Brite (they/them) is the founder and creative director of DoGoodBiz — an ethical creative studio for conscious leaders and the movements they're building. On their Substack newsletter, they write about creativity, ecosystems, and doing work rooted in care. They also excoriate social media! But in a soft, supportive way, of course. Today Natalie joins me to talk about why social media managers burn out so hard. And how their business when changed they let go of most of their retainer clients. Together we explore: The consequences of social media dependence A step-by-step breakdown of how Natalie reinvented their marketing strategy What it actually means to take an ecosystems approach to business Creative ecosystems vs personal brands A random Lord of the Rings metaphor that I spend way too long making…. & lots more! RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
June 17 · 1 hr 3 min
🔒 How to Run Your Creative Business During the Summer Slump (or Any Slow Time)
What do we do when business slows down over the summer? And how do we navigate that when a global recession and supply chain breakdown are happening at the same time?? In this Clubhouse-exclusive workshop replay, I share my best strategies for running your business during slow times — including somatic self-soothing ideas, ways to reduce expenses, and a framework for experimenting with new offerings. I'm sharing a preview here, but to watch the whole thing (and get the workbook!), you have to join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse When you do, you'll get access to over 50 bonus episodes (and counting), curated tech + creative business newsletters, and more. Plus your own private podcast feed, comments threads, and behind-the-scenes updates on the show. Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)
June 15 · 15 min
🪱 Cultivating Compassion in Polycrisis — Preparedness & Self-Publishing with Kailea Loften & Kate Weiner
Today I’m thrilled to have Kailea Rose Loften and Kate Rose Weiner of Loam on the podcast to discuss their new book, Compassion in Crisis, which just came out with Heyday Books. Together we have a gentle, honest, and deep conversation exploring: The meaning of ‘polycrisis’ Why it’s important to think about preparedness Ways to prepare without slipping into hypervigilance (even if you’re an anxious person) The role social media plays in both community building and community surveillance Why we still turn to social media for resource sharing and rapid response The spread of misinformation & disinformation online during disasters Publishing as a way of getting ‘off the grid’ Free Family Preparedness Information from Summer Starr If you enjoy this episode, please get yourself a copy of Compassion in Crisis! You can also join Kate & Kailea for book-related events across the US this summer! RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
June 10 · 1 hr 6 min
🔒 How Do I Grow My Email List Without Social Media?
Today I’m bringing you something really special— A mini-coaching session where I answer a question about how to grow your email list before, during, and after leaving social media. The question comes from the wonderful Kate of Queen Bee Hormone Health who wrote to me and asked: "Thanks to Off the Grid, I’ve backed wayyyy off posting on social media. I feel so much better, but I'm really struggling to get people moved onto my email list and wondering what advice you have for this part of the process? I don’t want to just ghost everyone. But I’m ready to get off the platform." I share the question and a few thoughts here, but to hear exactly how I’d help Kate leave social media and grow her email list... you have to join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse! When you do, you'll get access to over 50 bonus episodes (and counting), curated tech + creative business newsletters, and more. Plus your own private podcast feed, comments threads, and behind-the-scenes updates on the show. Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)
June 8 · 5 min
🧶 Attachment Theory Explains Everything — Social Media & AI Addiction with Shannon Algeo
I often say I left social media because I was anxiously-attached to Instagram… but what does that actually mean?! Today I’m joined by psychotherapist and author Shannon Algeo to explore why Attachment Theory explains so much about technology and smartphone addiction. We discuss their new book, The Power in Your Hands, as we talk about: What it means to be anxious, avoidant, or securely-attached How algorithms hack our attachment needs to get us addicted to platforms Why it’s so harmful to outsource self-trust to social media or AI Depth psychology & why human relationships are necessary for healing ⭐️ If you’re curious about these topics, please join us for a FREE BOOK CLUB with Shannon on June 10th! We’ll talk more about attachment + technology. No reading is required. Find the details and RSVP here. RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
June 3 · 1 hr 6 min
🔒 Live-Building a Small Biz AI Policy — with Dr. Kate Henry
Today I’m doing something fun and different… Live-writing an AI policy with my friend and colleague, Dr. Kate Henry of Honing In! After listening to the Off the Grid AI series, Kate reached out to ask if I she could hire me to help her write an AI policy. I said no, because I’m not doing 1:1 advising right now… but I proposed that we record a chat about it for the Clubhouse instead! So in this video and audio episode, you get to join me and Kate as we co-write the first draft of her AI policy for her business. Free subscribers can hear our reflections on AI in creative business, and paid subscribers get to come along as we write Kate’s AI policy in real time (with a template for you, too!). When you join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse, you'll get access to over 50 bonus episodes (and counting), curated tech + creative business newsletters, and more. Plus your own private podcast feed, comments threads, and behind-the-scenes updates on the show. Please join the Clubhouse to support Off the Grid! And find this specific episode here :) RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
June 1 · 23 min
🍓 Rewilding Your Business & How to Rest in Busy Times — with Lindsay Mack of Tarot for the Wild Soul
LINDSAY MACK IS HERE! And while you’ve probably heard them talk about tarot on their wildly popular podcast… Today they’re taking us deep behind the scenes of their work to explore: How they built their creative tarot business The key inflection points that led to successful biz growth The realities of being a breadwinner ~in this economy~ Why they’re finally releasing a tarot deck and book & The tarot archetypes carrying Lindsay through this busy season Tune in, then get a copy of Tarot for the Wild Soul and the Soul Tarot deck. (affiliate links) You can also hear Lindsay on my tarot podcast later this week! Find my tiny tarot practice on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen. RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
May 27 · 1 hr 3 min
👋 The Privilege of Leaving Social Media — Being a Working Writer & Valuing Art with River Selby
“My constant longing to be without social media is actually a longing to be in deeper connection with the world.” River Selby was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. They worked as a wildland firefighter for seven years, and their debut memoir, Hotshot: A Life of Fire, was published in 2025 by Grove Atlantic. Today, River joins me to talk about the realities of being an author from a working class, no-safety-net background — and how that has shaped their relationship to social media. Together, we explore: The gifts (and perils) of refusing to niche down How to quit performing & projecting on social media What to do when compare & despair becomes unavoidable How financial insecurity might impact your social media options Why many authors have to hire publicists (but we couldn’t afford to) Ways social media impacts your financial well-being Why we have to stop commodifying books RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
May 20 · 54 min
⛓️‍💥 It's Time to Decolonize Your Teaching Style — with Podge Thomas
If you’ve been paying attention around here… You likely know that next week I’m teaching a new intensive called COME TO CLASS! It’s a 3-day workshop on how to teach online with confidence and care, and it’ll guide you through everything I’ve learned in 20 years of teaching — with a special focus on how learning to teach can help you improve your sales. One of the bonuses that COME TO CLASS students get is behind-the-scenes conversations with my favorite online facilitators and course creators, and today I’m thrilled to bring you one of those conversations totally for free! Tune in to hear the brilliant teacher and Notion designer Podge Thomas and I discuss: How Podge fell in love with teaching — even though she hated school Why studying metacognition is the secret to better classrooms How to stop recreating the harms of traditional education models What to do when a student says “I don’t get this” Why your teaching style doesn't have to be for everyone If you like this conversation, sign up for COME TO CLASS! It's only $299 to sign up (payment plans available) and registration closes May 30th. RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
May 8 · 56 min
👩‍🏫 Why Online Education is Broken (But We Can Fix It) — with Sally Burns of The Portal
I’ve had SO MANY conversations about the problems with online course platforms. Mighty Networks vs Circle vs Kajabi vs Teachable — none of us like the existing options, and we’re waiting for someone to build something better. So today I’ve invited Sally Burns to the show, because she’s building an alternate platform for teaching and learning online — a digital neighborhood called The Portal. Tune in to hear about: Why Sally left corporate e-learning to build The Portal How to stop piecing a million tools together to host your course The false promises of Online Course Culture™️ Why we have to break down teacher/student hierarchy How The Portal helps you fill your classes — especially if you have a small audience What it actually takes to bootstrap a learning platform Ways to help old offerings reach new audiences 👉 If you’re excited about The Portal, learn more and join here! 👉 👉 And if you want to COME TO CLASS, here’s your link to sign up. Registration closes May 30th. RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
May 6 · 54 min
♾️ “You Needing Money Doesn't Make Stuff Sell” — Consistency & Collapse in Online Business with Nic Antoinette
My monthly-ish series with Nic Antoinette continues! This time we’re talking about what it means to be “consistent” when you’re running a business in this economy. We get into: How we simultaneously rage against consistency and attribute our success to it The relationship between consistency and cultivating trust with your audience Ways to build better (for you) rhythms in your business What to do when your launch plans line up with a major (horrible) event Why it’s important to get off the do-or-die, boom-or-bust, sell-or-go-bankrupt hamster wheel Cute baby sheep, gardening and cooking as tiny balms for the present moment LINKS MENTIONED: Nic’s newsletter on the baby sheep Amelia’s Gentle Business Planning workshop Needy by Mara Glatzel (affiliate link) Jen Carrington Off the Grid episode: Nice, Necessary, Ideal framework Off the Grid episode: How to plan a summer sabbatical in 5 simple steps COME TO CLASS earlybird list COOK90 (affiliate link) RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
May 1 · 1 hr 19 min
🧑‍🏫 How to Teach Online (& Why Learning to Teach is My Best Sales Hack)
If you want to build a business around your know-how… You have to learn how to teach. In today’s episode, I’m talking about why learning to teach is the best sales “hack” I know — and I’m introducing you to my upcoming spring intensive, COME TO CLASS. In just 30 minutes, I walk you through: Why online courses aren’t ‘dead’ or ‘over’ How to figure out what you want to teach What you need to know about boundaries before you start teaching Ideas for nonhierarchical and nonlinear classrooms Why writing a syllabus is like writing a sales page & more! Tune in then drop your email right here for access to earlybird pricing through May 1st. Can’t wait to see you in class! RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
April 29 · 33 min
🔒 How I Make Ambitious Biz Plans Without Burning Out
Today I’m very excited to share a workshop on gentle business planning — AKA how I make ambitious plans for my biz while also healing my burnout! In this audio (and video!) workshop, I walk you through: Why we’re always planning (even when we think we’re “behind”) My 6 tenets for Gentle Business Planning List-making prompts for the season ahead in your work How to turn reflective prompts into a clear marketing & sales calendar & How I use the Nine To Kind Digital planner to organize my projects Tune in here to hear my 6 tenets of Gentle Business Planning. Then head to the Clubhouse to enjoy the entire workshop. The recording is free for everyone this week only and available to paid Clubhouse supporters forever. Paid subscribers also get an edited audio version of the workshop AND a Notion doc with all the prompts to make this process super easy to do any time. So press play for a preview, then head to the Clubhouse to support the show! You can find this specific episode here :)
April 27 · 14 min
🗒️ How to Plan Without Becoming a Perfectionist — with Lauren of Nine to Kind
This is probably my fave conversation I’ve ever had with a therapist. Today Lauren Ruth Martin, LPC-MHSP is here to talk about the anti-perfectionist planners she created for her company Nine to Kind. We discuss: Why most planners force us into a productivity mindset How gentle scaffolding can help us plan without perfectionism The therapeutic exercises Lauren included in her planners Why we prefer DBT to CBT personally How to redistribute your f*cks — instead of trying to care less If you enjoy our conversation, make sure to explore Nine to Kind planners! Get 50% off digital planners with code OFFTHEGRID50 & 25% off analog products with code OFFTHEGRID25. Learn more & claim your discount at: ninetokind.com/pages/offthegrid RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
April 24 · 29 min
🔑 Why Privacy Matters (Even if Google Knows Everything) — with Patricia Egger, Head of Security for Proton
We talk a lot about privacy at Off the Grid… but what does that actually mean in practice? Today I’m joined by Patricia Egger, Head of Security at my fave privacy-focused tech company Proton. Together, we have a non-technical-person-friendly conversation about: Why Proton insists on ‘privacy by default’ The difference between online privacy & security Why we love Proton Mail & want you to use it (affiliate link) What it actually means when emails/messages are encrypted Proton’s Born Private initiative (& how to claim a $1 email address for your kids) Why AI has major privacy problems RESOURCES + LINKS 👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for creative business courses + community 💓 Join the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
April 22 · 45 min

Off The Grid: Leaving Social Media

⚡️ Making Content, Raising Revenue & Moving Off Substack — with Lex Roman of Revenue Rulebreaker

🔒 My Q2 Biz Recap — Highs, Lows & How Much $$ I Made

♾️ Take the Break Before the Break Takes You — Learning How to Pause & Quit with Nic Antoinette

🍕 Making Money as a Creative — Strategic Planning & Social Media with Andy J Pizza

✨ This One Thing Totally Transformed My Sales — Learning How to Pre-Launch with Nicole Cloutier [BEST OF]

🌸 Creative Ecosystems, Community-Based Business & Breaking Up with Your Personal Brand — with Natalie Brite

🔒 How to Run Your Creative Business During the Summer Slump (or Any Slow Time)

🪱 Cultivating Compassion in Polycrisis — Preparedness & Self-Publishing with Kailea Loften & Kate Weiner

🔒 How Do I Grow My Email List Without Social Media?

🧶 Attachment Theory Explains Everything — Social Media & AI Addiction with Shannon Algeo

🔒 Live-Building a Small Biz AI Policy — with Dr. Kate Henry

🍓 Rewilding Your Business & How to Rest in Busy Times — with Lindsay Mack of Tarot for the Wild Soul

👋 The Privilege of Leaving Social Media — Being a Working Writer & Valuing Art with River Selby

⛓️‍💥 It's Time to Decolonize Your Teaching Style — with Podge Thomas

👩‍🏫 Why Online Education is Broken (But We Can Fix It) — with Sally Burns of The Portal

♾️ “You Needing Money Doesn't Make Stuff Sell” — Consistency & Collapse in Online Business with Nic Antoinette

🧑‍🏫 How to Teach Online (& Why Learning to Teach is My Best Sales Hack)

🔒 How I Make Ambitious Biz Plans Without Burning Out

🗒️ How to Plan Without Becoming a Perfectionist — with Lauren of Nine to Kind

🔑 Why Privacy Matters (Even if Google Knows Everything) — with Patricia Egger, Head of Security for Proton