<![CDATA[this isn't normal]]>https://www.thisisntnormalpod.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zvxF!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f0e8640-39b9-4c7d-b15a-c3c8677c06bb_1280x1280.pngthis isn't normalhttps://www.thisisntnormalpod.comSubstackMon, 03 Aug 2026 07:19:37 GMT<![CDATA[#6: building your own box, giving up the fear of being disliked, and making marketing human with Liv Rife]]>https://www.thisisntnormalpod.com/p/6-building-your-own-box-giving-uphttps://www.thisisntnormalpod.com/p/6-building-your-own-box-giving-upTue, 28 Jul 2026 10:02:40 GMTIn this episode, Angelica sits down with Liv Rife, CEO and owner of Muse Media Mgmt to talk about her not so normal journey to starting her own marketing agency at 26 years old.

Liv Rife is the founder and CEO of Muse Media MGMT, where she combines strategy, storytelling, and creativity to help brands build meaningful connections with their audiences. She believes great marketing goes beyond beautiful content. It starts with understanding people, telling authentic stories, and creating experiences that leave a lasting impression.

Liv earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of South Florida. Before launching Muse Media MGMT, she spent years in the professional dance and entertainment industry, an experience that shaped her creativity, discipline, confidence, and eye for detail. That unique background continues to influence the way she approaches business, leadership, and marketing today.

Working with businesses across hospitality, wellness, fitness, and lifestyle, Liv is passionate about helping brands grow through intentional strategy, compelling content, and genuine human connection. She believes strategy should meet soul, and that the smallest details often make the biggest impact.

What you will hear in this episode:

  • Liv’s origin story

  • How growing up an athlete shaped her

  • Why she chose not to stay in the family business

  • How she found her passion in marketing

  • Lessons learned in starting her own business

  • How she silences the noise

  • Finding confidence in herself and her business

Subscribe to the newsletter: ⁠⁠thisisntnormalpod.com ⁠

Follow on Instagram: ⁠⁠@thisisntnormalpod⁠⁠

Connect with Angelica: ⁠⁠@angelicaconnor_⁠

Connect with Liv: ⁠@oliviafaithrife⁠

]]><![CDATA[#5: rebuilding your confidence, owning your role, and trusting yourself with Angelica Connor]]>https://www.thisisntnormalpod.com/p/5-rebuilding-your-confidence-owninghttps://www.thisisntnormalpod.com/p/5-rebuilding-your-confidence-owningTue, 21 Jul 2026 10:02:37 GMTIn this episode, Angelica is solo to talk about confidence. From becoming CEO at 22 to now being in the role for five years, she has been through a journey in finding her confidence both professionally and personally.

What you will hear in this episode:

- How her definition of confidence changed over time

- The impact being young in the construction industry had on her confidence

- How to own the role you are in and not let other people impact it

- How important the relationship with yourself is

- What didn’t work for building confidence

- And she answers your submitted questions

Subscribe to the newsletter: ⁠thisisntnormalpod.com⁠

Follow on Instagram: ⁠@thisisntnormalpod⁠

Connect with Angelica: ⁠@angelicaconnor_⁠

]]><![CDATA[#4: following your own path, leading young, and unapologetic ambition with Maria Stege]]>https://www.thisisntnormalpod.com/p/4-following-your-own-path-leadinghttps://www.thisisntnormalpod.com/p/4-following-your-own-path-leadingTue, 14 Jul 2026 10:02:35 GMTIn this episode, Angelica sits down with Maria Stege, founder of BARE Studios, to talk about the choice not to go to college, running multiple studios at 22, and why she believes ambition never owes anyone an apology.

Maria is the founder of BARE Studios in Tampa Bay. Before BARE, she led multi-location operations in boutique fitness, developed instructor education systems, and built the sales and retention strategies behind those businesses. She stepped into entrepreneurship with a clear vision for what BARE should be: a studio where strength is developed through structure, not trends, and where standards are treated as the work itself.

What you will hear in this episode:

- Why Maria decided not to go to college, and how her family reacted

- What it actually looks like to earn respect when you are the youngest person in the room

- The line between confidence and cockiness, and why women should stop apologizing for either

- Why she believes the fitness industry has lowered the bar on who gets to teach

- The mindset that has driven every decision in her career

Subscribe to the newsletter: thisisntnormalpod.com

Follow on Instagram: @thisisntnormalpod

Connect with Angelica: @angelicaconnor_

Connect with Maria: @mariaastege @barepilatesstudios

For press, partnerships, and guest inquiries: thisisntnormalpod@gmail.com

]]><![CDATA[#3: intentional decisions, navigating ambition, and building community with Allie Felix]]>https://www.thisisntnormalpod.com/p/3-intentional-decisions-navigatinghttps://www.thisisntnormalpod.com/p/3-intentional-decisions-navigatingTue, 07 Jul 2026 10:01:32 GMTAngelica sits down with Allie Felix, founder of Tampa-based holding company Goldia Group, to talk about what it actually means to build community-first businesses in a market most people consider second-tier. They get into why leaving major markets can be a more ambitious move than staying, what motherhood actually changed about her approach to building, and why she does not believe in work-life balance.

Allie is the founder of Goldia Group, a Tampa-based holding company named after her husband’s grandmother. After a career in venture capital in San Francisco and New York, she returned home to Tampa to build something rooted in the community she was raising her family in. Through Goldia Group, she has franchised The Bunny Hive and acquired The Scout Guide Tampa and St. Pete. She lives in Tampa with her husband and two daughters.

What you will hear in this episode:

- Why coming home to Tampa was a more ambitious move than staying in SF or NY

- Why “more stimulation is not better” in children’s enrichment

- Why print media is not dead, just undervalued

- What “honest integration” looks like in practice, and why she does not call it balance

- How motherhood changed how she thinks about ambition

- What she worries about as Tampa grows

Subscribe to the newsletter: thisisntnormalpod.com

Follow on Instagram: @thisisntnormalpod

Connect with Angelica: @angelicaconnor_

Connect with Allie: @goldiagroup @tsgtampastpete @thebunnyhiveodessa @thebunnyhivetampa

]]><![CDATA[#2: choosing yourself, leading at 28, and building on your own terms with Gaby Hernandez]]>https://www.thisisntnormalpod.com/p/2-choosing-yourself-leading-at-28https://www.thisisntnormalpod.com/p/2-choosing-yourself-leading-at-28Tue, 30 Jun 2026 10:02:59 GMTAngelica sits down with 28-year-old McDonald’s owner/operator, Gaby Hernandez, to talk about her journey as a young leader, what happens when a woman stops being relatable, and what no one warns you about being a young female owner in an industry that does not look like you. They talk about her divorce, how she is raising her daughter as a single mom, and how she separated her business from her dad’s.

Gaby is a 28-year-old single mom who owns and operates three McDonald’s restaurants. After choosing to step away from professional dance, she started at McDonald’s on fries and worked her way up. She bought her first two locations during her divorce and later separated her business from her father’s to run it on her own terms. From daycare drop-offs to presenting in board meetings, to punching her boxing coach, Gaby is redefining what success, balance, and joy can look like at a young age.

What you will learn in this episode:

  • Gaby’s origin story

  • The expectations of young women in business

  • Navigating friendship loss and supporting other women

  • When you know it’s time to leave

  • How to find confidence

  • Advice she would give her younger self

Subscribe to the newsletter: thisisntnormalpod.com

Follow on Instagram: @thisisntnormalpod

Connect with Angelica: @angelicaconnor_

Connect with Gaby: @gggggabz

For press, partnerships, and guest inquiries: thisisntnormalpod@gmail.com

]]><![CDATA[#1: why this isn’t normal]]>https://www.thisisntnormalpod.com/p/why-this-isnt-normalhttps://www.thisisntnormalpod.com/p/why-this-isnt-normalTue, 23 Jun 2026 10:02:31 GMTAngelica sits down with creative director, Gabby, to share her story of becoming CEO at 22, the realistic journey she has been on since then, and how she is using that experience to create the this isn’t normal platform. If you want real stories about young women doing things that weren’t expected, then this is the show for you.

What you will hear in this episode:

  • Angelica’s origin story

  • The reality of being a young leader

  • How to navigate external perception

  • Ambition, ceilings, and being who they don’t expect

  • Why this show was created and who it is for

  • What to expect from this show moving forward

Listen on Spotify: this isn’t normal

Listen on Apple Podcasts: this isn’t normal

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://thisisntnormalpod.com

Follow on Instagram: @thisisntnormalpod

Connect with Angelica: @angelicaconnor_

For press, partnerships, and guest inquiries: thisisntnormalpod@gmail.com

]]><![CDATA[hi, here is what I am building]]>https://www.thisisntnormalpod.com/p/hi-here-is-what-i-am-buildinghttps://www.thisisntnormalpod.com/p/hi-here-is-what-i-am-buildingMon, 18 May 2026 10:02:35 GMT

Hi. I’m Angelica.

If you’re here this early, you either know me, or you found something I wrote and decided to lean in. Either way, thanks for being one of the first.

This Substack is the written half of a podcast I’m launching this summer. Both are called this isn’t normal. Both are for ambitious women redefining leadership, growth, and what “normal” actually means.

Here’s what’s coming:

→ A podcast launching June 23. Solo episodes and conversations with women I admire from founders to leaders to friends trying to figure life out.

→ A weekly essay here on Substack where I will go deeper than we can on the show. The version of the conversation that needed more than 30 seconds on a Reel.

→ A community of women who are tired of every podcast for women in business sounding like the last one.

A few things this isn’t:

It isn’t motivational gloss, girlboss revival, or life hacks. If you came for those, this isn’t going to be your thing, and that’s okay.

What it IS: smart, direct, slightly uncomfortable, and built for the ones doing more than expected.

The first long essay is coming in a few weeks. I’ll send it straight to your inbox when it’s live.

Subscribe so you don’t miss it.

See you in June.

— Angelica

Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

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