Plenty with Kate Northrup

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 the behind-the-scenes story of stepping away from BossBabe, buying the company back, and rebuilding it in a way that aligned with the actual life she wanted to live. The conversation moves into nervous system regulation, healing from chaos and functional freeze, navigating marriage and partnership while building a company, and learning how to create success without abandoning yourself in the process.

This episode is a powerful reminder that freedom is not just financial. It’s emotional. It’s relational. It’s nervous system deep. And ultimately, it comes from building a life and business that genuinely supports the person you are—not just the image you project to the world.

“A freedom-based business is a lifestyle business that is a vehicle to the lifestyle you want to live.” — Natalie Ellis
🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤
00:00 Freedom-Based Business + Redefining Success
04:09 The Pressure of Building a Personal Brand
07:30 Realizing Outer Freedom Wasn’t Enough
10:37 Motherhood, Identity Shifts & Partnership
11:53 Women, Ambition & Work-Life Balance
27:52 Growing Up Feeling Different + Chasing Success
36:11 Nervous System Healing + Functional Freeze
40:00 Rebuilding Success from a More Aligned Model
44:42 Relationships, Vulnerability & Emotional Safety
52:00 Final Reflections + Freedom Beyond Money

Links and Resources:
Kate's Instagram
Recalibration Field Guide

Connect with Natalie Ellis:
Boss Babe
Website
Freedom-based Business Book
Facebook
Instagram
Facebook
✨ Ready for Income That Actually Builds Something?

If you're capable, ambitious, and earning well — but your financial life still feels like something you have to hold together — this one's for you.

The free Recalibration Field Guide is a diagnostic companion to the Recalibration Series here on Plenty. It's built to take what you're hearing in the series and locate it precisely in your money ecosystem — so you can see exactly where to go next.

Most people recognize themselves within the first five minutes.

Inside the Field Guide, you'll explore:
🔹 The Four Hidden Money Ecosystem States — Overdrive, Constriction, Diffusion, and Stewarded — and which one your money is actually running in right now
🔹 The Wealth Stewardship Pyramid — the sequence wealth actually builds through, and how to reorient your ambition toward architecture instead of urgency
🔹 The Four-Leaks Diagnostic — where money and energy are escaping your system, not hypothetically, but in your specific income pattern and situation
🔹 The Energetics → Engineering → Expression Map — why surface-level financial fixes haven't worked, and what to do instead
🔹 Deep Reflection Prompts — built around the central question the series raises: Why do I still feel like I'm the one who has to make everything happen, even when things are going well?

This isn't a budgeting tool. It's not a workbook. It's a diagnostic instrument for self-led leaders who are ready to stop being the sole infrastructure of their own financial life — and build something that actually holds.

👉 Download the free Recalibration Field Guide at katenorthrup.com/fieldguide

Because making more money is powerful.

But building the architecture that makes what you earn actually stay, compound, and support your life?

That's the upgrade. ✨

What if an investment could be both financially irrational… and deeply worth it?

In this episode, Mike Watts returns to Plenty for part two of our behind-the-scenes Airbnb series, where we pull back the curtain on the actual numbers behind our Maine short-term rental project.

And yes — technically, we’re currently underwater on it.

But this conversation isn’t just about profit margins or renovation budgets. It’s about the bigger picture of building freedom-based wealth, creating long-term assets, and making financial decisions that align with your values, your family, and the life you actually want to live.

Mike shares exactly what we paid for the property, how much we spent on renovations, what surprised us most during the process, and the lessons we’ve already learned that we’ll absolutely apply differently next time.

This episode is part real estate breakdown, part wealth philosophy, and part honest conversation about what it actually looks like to build something long-term — even when the math doesn’t immediately “make sense.”

Whether you’re curious about investing in real estate, building multiple income streams, or simply thinking differently about money and freedom, this conversation will expand the way you think about wealth.

“It’s impossible to separate financial decisions from emotions.” - Kate Northrup 

“Real estate allows this kind of fun thing where you can create equity, leverage it, and build again.” - Mike Watts
🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤
00:00 Airbnb renovation sticker shock
02:22 Why we started an Airbnb business
05:59 Real estate investing + Airbnb metrics
11:08 Why money decisions are emotional
14:13 Property analysis + resale potential
21:20 Estimating Airbnb revenue with AirDNA
27:22 Renovation chaos + unexpected repairs
31:00 Full Airbnb financial breakdown
51:11 Airbnb ethics, taxes + community impact
59:52 Final reflections + future plans

Links and Resources:
Kate's Instagram
Mike's Instagram
Katenorthrup.com
AirDNA
BNBCalc
Airbnb listing for our property
Mel Dorman IG
The Real Estate Investor Goddess Handbook
The Big Money Decision Matrix

✨ What If You Trusted Yourself With Money Decisions?

The free Big Money Decision Matrix is the exact framework Kate uses for major financial decisions — from investments to business moves to buying property.

Because second-guessing is expensive.
And hesitation compounds fast.

Inside, you’ll explore:
🔹 How to regulate your body before making money decisions
🔹 The difference between desire and proving something
🔹 How to get clear on the real numbers
🔹 Whether your wealth systems can actually sustain the win

This is body first, bank account second.

And it’s designed to help you become the kind of person who can say:

“I don’t make bad decisions.”

Not from arrogance.
From self-trust.

👉 Download The Big Money Decision Matrix and use it on a decision you’ve been circling. ✨

Related Episode:
How We Launched Our First Airbnb for Tax Savings, Passive Income & Long-Term Wealth (157)

What if the thing keeping you from receiving more money, love, or support isn't strategy — but how safe it feels to open your heart?

And what if worthiness isn't something you earn… but something you decide?

In this episode, I sit down with Suzy Ashworth for a conversation about receiving — money, love, visibility, support — and the courage it takes to stay openhearted in a world that can feel painful at times.

Suzy shares the winding path from creating the world's first online hypnobirthing program to becoming a leader in the conversation around abundance, audacity, and infinite receiving. We move through identity, motherhood, business evolution, relationships, body-based safety, and the vulnerable process of letting ourselves be fully seen.

What stays with me about Suzy is her willingness to speak honestly about both her gifts and her growth edges. This conversation moves from business and money into heartbreak, self-worth, intimacy, race, and parenting — woven through the lifelong work of opening more fully.

We also explore something many women quietly carry: the tension between wanting more and feeling safe enough to receive it. Because receiving isn't only about money. It's about visibility. Pleasure. Support. Love. Being willing to take up space. Being willing to believe you're worthy before external proof arrives.

Suzy shares how she rewired her body to believe in outcomes before they happened — from becoming a bestselling author to building an eight-figure business — and how worthiness became less about waiting to feel ready and more about making a decision.

This conversation is expansive, honest, funny, and tender. There may be something here for anyone who's been holding back from what they truly desire because receiving it feels vulnerable.

“In order to be able to receive infinitely, you have to be willing to go all in.” –Suzy Ashworth
🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤
00:32 Susie Ashworth: Background & Achievements
01:23 Episode Themes: Vulnerability, Receiving, Love & Money
03:52 Hypnobirthing & Building the Calm Birth School
07:12 Personal Life, Motherhood & Identity Shift
15:42 Audacity, Authenticity & Self-Expression
22:23 Race, Foster Upbringing & Navigating BLM
26:51 Healing Work & Opening the Heart
36:32 Receiving Money, Worthiness & Keeping Wealth
42:14 Quantum Transformation Method: Coaching Framework
47:03 Desires, Love & Future Intentions
51:42 Resources, Call to Action & Closing

Links and Resources:
Unlocking Financial Abundance with Hypnotherapy with Grace Smith (050)
The Calm Birth School 

Connect with Suzy Ashworth:
Website
Podcast
Instagram
Facebook
Infinite Receiving Free Book
Quantum Transformation Method

✨ Ready for Income That Actually Builds Something?

If you're capable, ambitious, and earning well — but your financial life still feels like something you have to hold together — this one's for you.

The free Recalibration Field Guide is a diagnostic companion to the Recalibration Series here on Plenty. It's built to take what you're hearing in the series and locate it precisely in your money ecosystem — so you can see exactly where to go next.

Most people recognize themselves within the first five minutes.

Inside the Field Guide, you'll explore:
🔹 The Four Hidden Money Ecosystem States — Overdrive, Constriction, Diffusion, and Stewarded — and which one your money is actually running in right now
🔹 The Wealth Stewardship Pyramid — the sequence wealth actually builds through, and how to reorient your ambition toward architecture instead of urgency
🔹 The Four-Leaks Diagnostic — where money and energy are escaping your system, not hypothetically, but in your specific income pattern and situation
🔹 The Energetics → Engineering → Expression Map — why surface-level financial fixes haven't worked, and what to do instead
🔹 Deep Reflection Prompts — built around the central question the series raises: Why do I still feel like I'm the one who has to make everything happen, even when things are going well?

This isn't a budgeting tool. It's not a workbook. It's a diagnostic instrument for self-led leaders who are ready to stop being the sole infrastructure of their own financial life — and build something that actually holds.

👉 Download the free Recalibration Field Guide at katenorthrup.com/fieldguide

Because making more money is powerful.

But building the architecture that makes what you earn actually stay, compound, and support your life?

That's the upgrade. ✨

What if building a new stream of income didn't require perfection — just a willingness to learn as you go?

And what might open up if you let yourself experiment with money in a way that feels creative instead of rigid?

In this episode, I'm taking you behind the scenes with Mike as we share the real story of launching our first short-term rental property — what worked, what surprised us, and what we'd do differently.

We originally explored this path as a tax strategy, but it turned into something more: an opportunity to diversify our income, build an asset, and step into a completely new kind of learning curve.

And it was a learning curve. We went in thinking renovations would cost about half of what they actually did. Once we opened up the walls, we uncovered things we couldn't have anticipated — outdated systems, deeper structural work that needed to happen.

But even with those surprises, the property is now live and generating income, which has been rewarding to see.

We talk about how we chose the location (and why familiarity with a market matters), how we thought about increasing the property's value, and the importance of understanding local regulations before you invest.

We also share something I care about: the idea of "shipping" before everything is perfect. Whether it's business or investing, waiting until you feel fully ready can keep you stuck indefinitely.

This episode is an invitation to approach money with more curiosity, more flexibility, and more willingness to learn through action — rather than waiting for certainty.

“We went into it thinking it was gonna cost about half as much as it did to renovate.” –Kate Northrup
“The hardest part is getting it started and getting things set up.”--Mike Watts
🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤
01:32 Announcement: Launching Our Short‑Term Rental Business
02:54 Property Overview: Yarmouth, Maine Airbnb
04:18 Episode Structure, Goals and Why We’re Sharing (Part One)
07:09 How to Start: Strategies by Capital, Time, and Involvement
09:17 How We Found the Property: Trip, Local Connections, and Purchase Story
13:37 Market Research: Tools, Seasonality, and Pricing
18:24 Rental Types: Short, Mid, and Long‑Term Profitability
25:16 Renovation Surprises, Regulations, and Contractor Quotes
34:19 Financial Goals: Diversification and Income Strategy
39:40 Lessons, Listing Details, and Guest Experience

Links and Resources:
Kate's Instagram
Mike's Instagram
Katenorthrup.com
AirDNA
BNBCalc
Airbnb listing for our property

✨ Ready for Income That Actually Builds Something?

If you're earning well — but your financial life still feels like something you're personally responsible for keeping intact — this one's for you.

The free Recalibration Field Guide is a diagnostic companion to the Recalibration Series here on Plenty. It's built to take what you're hearing in the series and locate it precisely in your money ecosystem — so you can see exactly where to go next.

Most people recognize themselves within the first five minutes.

Inside the Field Guide, you'll explore:
🔹 The Four Hidden Money Ecosystem States — Overdrive, Constriction, Diffusion, and Stewarded — and which one your money is actually running in right now
🔹 The Wealth Stewardship Pyramid — the sequence wealth actually builds through, and how to reorient your ambition toward architecture instead of urgency
🔹 The Money Leaks Diagnostic — where money and energy are escaping your system, not hypothetically, but in your specific income pattern and situation
🔹 The Energetics → Engineering → Expression Map — why surface-level financial work doesn't reach the underlying patterns, and what does
🔹 Deep Reflection Prompts — built around the central question the series raises: Why do I still feel like I'm the one who has to make everything happen, even when things are going well?

This isn't a budgeting tool. It's not a workbook. It's a diagnostic instrument for self-led leaders who are ready to stop being the sole infrastructure of their own financial life — and build something that actually stewards itself.

👉 Download the free Recalibration Field Guide at katenorthrup.com/fieldguide

Because making more money is powerful.

But building the architecture that makes what you earn actually stay, compound, and support your life?

That's the upgrade. ✨

What if the feeling that there’s “not enough” isn’t actually true—but something you’ve been taught to believe?

And what might shift if your relationship with money became rooted in sufficiency instead of scarcity?

What if scarcity isn’t a reality—but a story we’ve all been living inside?

In this episode, I sit down with Lynne Twist and Sara Vetter for one of the most expansive conversations we’ve had on this podcast—about money, purpose, and what it means to create a different future for our planet.

We explore the idea that the dominant paradigm we’ve been operating in—the belief that there’s not enough, that we have to compete, that someone will inevitably be left out—is actually a lie. And how that belief shapes not only our financial lives, but the way we relate to each other and the world.

Lynne shares her decades of work in global philanthropy and the profound realization that people living in conditions of hunger are not “less than”—that what’s lacking is not their worth, but their circumstances. And Sara opens up about her own journey from external success and privilege into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with money and purpose.

We talk about sufficiency—not as a number, but as a state of being. We explore what happens when we shift from accumulation to contribution, from fear to trust, and from isolation to connection.

This conversation is ultimately an invitation to look at your own relationship with money—and to consider the possibility that true wealth lives not in what you have, but in how you engage with your life.

“The paradigm of scarcity—that there’s not enough to go around—is a lie.” –Lynne Twist
“Money does not bring you happiness.” –Sara Vetter
🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤
00:24 Guest Introduction and Episode Themes (Lynn Twist & Sarah Vedder)
03:31 Lynn's Upbringing, Father's Death and Path to Activism
07:22 Lynn on Money, Respect and Ethical Fundraising
09:16 Sarah's Money Story and Personal Transformation
25:13 How Lynn and Sarah Met — Partnership and Complementary Strengths
28:06 Wealth, Scarcity Paradigm and the Truth of Sufficiency
35:33 Pachamama Alliance — Amazon Conservation and Indigenous Partnership
42:48 The Sophia Century and Divine Feminine Wisdom
48:07 Manifestation & Full‑Circle Story (Oprah, Charlotte and Synchronicity)
59:46 How to Support, Get Involved and Closing Resources
Links and Resources:
Recalibration Field
The Big Money decision Matrix

Connect with Lynne Twist & Sara Vetter:
The Soul of Money
Living a committed life
Pachamama Alliance
Remarkable Women's Journey
Soul of Money Institute
✨ Ready for Income That Actually Builds Something?

If you're capable, ambitious, and earning well — but your financial life still feels like something you have to hold together — this one's for you.

The free Recalibration Field Guide is a diagnostic companion to the Recalibration Series here on Plenty. It's built to take what you're hearing in the series and locate it precisely in your money ecosystem — so you can see exactly where to go next.

Most people recognize themselves within the first five minutes.

Inside the Field Guide, you'll explore:
🔹 The Four Hidden Money Ecosystem States — Overdrive, Constriction, Diffusion, and Stewarded — and which one your money is actually running in right now
🔹 The Wealth Stewardship Pyramid — the sequence wealth actually builds through, and how to reorient your ambition toward architecture instead of urgency
🔹 The Four-Leaks Diagnostic — where money and energy are escaping your system, not hypothetically, but in your specific income pattern and situation
🔹 The Energetics → Engineering → Expression Map — why surface-level financial fixes haven't worked, and what to do instead
🔹 Deep Reflection Prompts — built around the central question the series raises: Why do I still feel like I'm the one who has to make everything happen, even when things are going well?

This isn't a budgeting tool. It's not a workbook. It's a diagnostic instrument for self-led leaders who are ready to stop being the sole infrastructure of their own financial life — and build something that actually holds.

👉 Download the free Recalibration Field Guide at katenorthrup.com/fieldguide

Because making more money is powerful.

But building the architecture that makes what you earn actually stay, compound, and support your life?

That's the upgrade. ✨