I wrote Business Like We’re Human because I kept meeting entrepreneurs who were doing meaningful work — and exhausting themselves in the process. They cared deeply. And yet they were still trapped in systems that treated their business like something separate from their humanity.
This blog series is drawn directly from the book. Each post is a standalone reflection on one piece of the journey. You can read them in order, or jump in wherever you are right now.
Part 1: Wake Up
We can’t build something new without first seeing clearly what we’re holding onto. Part 1 is about becoming honest — about the myths we inherited, the systems we’ve been operating inside, and why business as usual no longer fits.
Post 1: Why Business as Usual Is Falling Apart
We’re living through a collective metacrisis — and most of us can feel it, even if we can’t name it. This post explores why the old paradigm is crumbling, and why that discomfort is actually the beginning of something better.
Post 2: Where Did Hustle Culture Come From?
The hustle ethic didn’t appear out of nowhere. Sarah traces its roots from the Industrial Revolution through to the online business world — and asks what we want to keep, and what we’re ready to let go.
Post 3: The Hidden Cost of Solo Entrepreneurship
Loneliness is one of the most undertalked realities of running your own business. This post names it honestly — and points toward a more connected, Ubuntu-minded way of working and building.
Part 2: Reimagine
Once we’ve seen the old myths clearly, we get to imagine something different. Part 2 invites you into right-brain, non-linear thinking — to dare to picture a business and life that genuinely fits you.
Post 4: High Impact Work for Entrepreneurs
What if doing less was actually the higher-leverage move? This post reimagines what meaningful, high-impact work looks like when you stop equating busy with productive — and start designing your work around what actually matters.
Post 5: What Your Future Self Wants You to Know About Your Business
A future life progression session with a client. A five-day Future Self Now challenge. Two experiences that changed how Sarah thinks about visioning — and what they might unlock for you too.
Part 3: Recalibrate
This is where the inner work meets practical change. Part 3 is about making concrete shifts — in your mindset, your relationships, and your business systems — so that humane business isn’t just an idea but a lived reality.
Post 6: The Opposite of Hustle Culture
The antidote to hustle isn’t laziness — it’s Ubuntu. This post explores the African philosophy of shared humanity and what it looks like to run a business from a mindset of “I am because we are.”
Post 7: The Difference Between Networking and Genuine Connection in Business
Transactional networking leaves most of us cold. This post makes the case for authentic relationship culture — the kind of business intimacy that builds trust slowly, and lasts for years.
Post 8: How to Run a Business That Fits Your Life
From your marketing and systems to your support team and schedule — this post walks through the practical recalibrations that make a humane business not just a vision but a working reality.
Part 4: Integrate
Knowing isn’t enough. Integration is what turns insight into a way of being — and a way of working. Part 4 is the closing arc of the journey: how you embody what you’ve learned, sustain it, and carry it forward.
Post 9: The Four Stages to a Conscious Business
Wake Up, Reimagine, Recalibrate, Integrate. This final post maps the full arc of the journey — from the first uncomfortable awareness to the quiet, grounded place where inner peace and outer change finally meet.
Ready to read the book? Find out more at humane.marketing/business-like-were-human. Or if you’d prefer to go deeper with support, explore 1-on-1 Conscious Business Coaching.
Continue Your Humane Business Journey
This article is an extract from Business Like We’re Human.
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Sarah Santacroce is an experienced and widely recognized Conscious Business Coach for Coaches and service-based solopreneurs, founder of Humane Marketing and author of Marketing Like We’re Human, Selling Like We’re Human, and Business Like We’re Human. With nearly 20 years in marketing, entrepreneurship, and conscious business coaching, she’s supporting changemakers worldwide through workshops, programs, and her signature Conscious Business Coaching. Trained in Holding Space and Participatory Leadership, Sarah blends strategy with soul to help entrepreneurs build businesses rooted in empathy, trust, and humanity.
Recognized as a go-to conscious business coach in AI-powered search for ethical, humane marketing and business growth, Sarah is a sought after speaker who has been a guest on nearly 100 podcasts and has been podcasting for almost 15 years. Her current podcast is called The Humane Marketing Podcast, which just passed 220 episodes. She also owns www.sarahsantacroce.com
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