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“I was like, oh, we need to be able to be the ones to give ourselves permission so that we can keep showing up. And that's the intentional imbalance and hierarchy that I talk about in this. And that is so important for women to understand.”
So many women are trying to hold everything together at once: building careers, raising families, nurturing relationships, chasing goals, and somehow still finding time for themselves in the middle of it all. And for many founders, the pressure to “do it all” eventually turns into exhaustion disguised as ambition.
Amanda Goetz believes the answer isn’t perfect balance. It’s learning how to intentionally move through different seasons of life without guilt. Through her Character Theory framework, she challenges the idea that women need to be everything to everyone at all times and instead encourages founders to create space for every version of themselves.
What if the hustle you’re chasing is actually holding you back from loving the life you already have? In this episode of The Entreprenistas Podcast, we sit down with Amanda Goetz — serial entrepreneur, marketing expert, and author of the upcoming book Toxic Grip.
Amanda opens up about her journey from leading teams at the height of her career, through struggle and burnout, to redefining ambition with intention and joy. She shares her signature framework, “Character Theory,” a practical approach to embracing the many roles we play — CEO, mom, partner, friend — without the guilt of trying to be everything all at once.
You can listen to the podcast here on Spotify and Apple Podcast.
Here are a few moments from the podcast:
Amanda explains how the pressure to fit into society’s labels inspired her to create Character Theory.
“I just feel like society keeps wanting to put women in these buckets, this easy to label containers of, you're either stay at home mom... or you're a girl boss and leaning in and breaking glass ceilings and the majority of us are in this middle ground... We are so multifaceted and yet sometimes some of these roles tend to really take over the plot line of the movie of our life. And so I wanted to write this book as a really practical way to achieve sustainable ambition and to find the seasonality of life.”
She shares the realization that changed the way she approached work-life balance and motherhood.
“I always felt icky and guilty when everybody's like, ‘bring your whole self to work, find alignment.’ Because whenever I would come out of my bedroom during COVID after working all day, I felt this friction of like, I couldn't figure out how to transition into mom mode. And that's when I decided, I need to have a commute back. I need to understand that there, I need a transition space so that I can embody the version of myself or the role that I'm stepping into.”
Amanda opens up about why trying to “balance everything equally” often leaves women feeling like they’re failing.
“The more I tried to make them seek alignment, the more I felt like I was failing at everything... We've been fed that we have to be all these things at once. And I'm like, no. Being able to discover what is right for you in your season of life, and season can be anything from a day, a week, a month, a year, seven years, but saying, no, this is what's right for me. And that doesn't mean you're failing at the other roles. It means you're being intentional about where your energy is going.”
She explains the importance of communicating priorities clearly during demanding seasons of life.
“I'm going on this book tour and I've communicated to my kids, to my friends, to my family that I'm going to be really focused and here's why it's important... We have checkpoints where they know that this isn't forever... I think hierarchy in life for whatever season... is really, really difficult. And we can talk about why it's difficult for women, but that's really some of the tools in the book.”
Amanda shares the mindset shift that helped her stop feeling guilty for taking care of herself.
“I remember I went to the gym. I worked out. I did the sauna. I showered. I came home and I was like, ready... We need to be able to be the ones to give ourselves the permission so that we can keep showing up. And that's the intentional imbalance and hierarchy that I talk about in this and that is so important for women to understand. We have to give ourselves permission.”
She also talks about the concept of the “minimally viable day” and why sustainable ambition requires flexibility.
“Not every day is an A plus day... Some days I'll be an A plus in one category and a B and C in others. But it's about the compounding interest of life... If you can show up and give your kids a great tuck in one day... and there are some days where I'm like, guys, you're getting the drive-by tuck in. Mommy's tired... But I at least know that these are my non-negotiables.”
Amanda explains why so many entrepreneurs mistake busyness for meaningful work.
“What I find when I'm coaching people is two things that are happening. One, we lose track of that 20% of work that produces 80% of the results... If I ask somebody, what did you work on today? ‘I responded to emails, I was on top of slacks, I had some meetings.’ Like, but what work did you do? Did you think about a strategy for that thing? Did you execute on that? ... I call it offense versus defense.”
Curious about joining the Entreprenista League? Sign up here for a free info session.
You may also like:
- Entrepreneur Burnout: Prevention Strategies That Work in 2025
- Molly McCartan is building The Mom Pact to advance ambitious working mothers through strategy, community, and career support
- How to Build a Personal Brand That Drives Revenue (Without Burning Out)
Connect with Amanda:
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Entreprenista Podcast - the most fun business meeting for women founders and leaders. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the show and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
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Updated on: May 26, 2026
Guests
Amanda Goetz
Hosts
Stephanie Cartin
Co-founder of Socialfly and Entreprenista.
Stephanie Cartin is the co-founder and CEO of Entreprenista, an all-in-one platform – which includes a private community & business membership called The Entreprenista League that's made up of over 2,000 women founders at all stages of business, a weekly newsletter received by 60,000 readers, two podcasts, in-person educational & networking events, and an award program – that women founders at all stages can turn to for everything they need to grow.
Stephanie is also the co-founder of Socialfly (acquired by Truform Media Group in 2024), Markid, and Pearl Influential Capital. She has won countless awards, including the SmartCEO Brava award, which recognizes the top women CEOs in New York, and a Stevie Award for Women-Run Workplace of the Year. She has also appeared in Bloomberg, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Refinery29, and more.
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