Anti-capitalist entrepreneurship is changing the world
here's what I do to rebel against the systems
Mariah Mueller
Feb 09, 2026
I have set out to build a business that centers my nervous system. She is my CEO. I check in with her, talk to her, listen deeply to the ways she explicitly communicates and I care about the patterns she shows me. It’s not just about breath work, movement, and regulating yourself (although all of those are important tools). It’s about the willingness to exist with the discomfort long enough that you see the other side of it. It’s about being SOOO committed to the plot that you birth a completely different character. It’s about allowing the fear of being rejected to move through you, having the hard conversations that honor your boundaries instead of people pleasing and sticking through the moments where you feel naked in a crowd full of people laughing at you (hypothetically). Your nervous system is here to keep you safe. Your subconscious programming is ready to form new neural pathways and create new stories. You get to be the steward of your new life by gently tending to both at the same time.
Here are 10 things I’ve learned since starting my business a year ago:
The only way to gain clarity is by doing it. Before it’s perfect. Before it makes sense. Before you have social proof.
Service trades build confidence and allow you to practice receiving and valuing your own work!!
You can rewrite your offers a million different ways and borrow everyone else’s “proven framework,” but you won’t know what works for your life, your energy and your people until you serve them and LISTEN.
You get to create funky, anti-capitalist rules that literally contribute to decolonizing the workplace. DO THAT. Trust that. Embody that. (I give examples below)
Your business is a direct mirror of your nervous system, internal state AND your socioeconomic upbringing. Awareness is the first step - notice your bodies signals (tight chest, pit in your stomach, tense shoulders, clenched jaw, etc.), notice your inner dialogue, and become aware of the beliefs you hold about RECEIVING money.
Hire a mentor who already has the life you’re desiring and stop consuming content from people in your industry unless you’re absolutely inspired and energized by them. Focus on YOUR voice. YOUR magic. YOUR story and double down.
Most people who start their business don’t see a net positive until year 3. Plan accordingly for that and trust yourself. Also, STOP being such a dick to yourself if you’re not “feeling” success over night.
Map out your goals based on what feels attainable, safe but a litttttle bit stretchy. I jumped into wanting to make $10,000 months but actually needed to build trust in myself that I can hold space for people without putting a rigid number on it. Now I’m aligning the dreamiest clients and very intentionally building my way up to that number.
You don’t need an LLC to start. You don’t need a brand or a website to start. You don’t need followers. You literally just need to believe in yourself so passionately that success is the only option.
Building a business that you don’t want to burn down is an intentional decision that shows up in the micro moments of every crevice of your life. It’s the “I get to” versus “I have to/I should” and the “this feels so good” versus the “why is this so hard” focus that shapes your experience. Let it be easy. Choose to have fun and play with it. You are the creator.
It’s NOT the fast track to success you see sold to you in the “how I made 100k in 3 months” reels…but it is the RICHEST form of creation to not abandon yourself for attachments outside of you. Money is life changing, yes. AND money magnetized from being so kind, compassionate, honest and intentional EVERY SINGLE DAY…is NOURISHING. It’s sustainable. It’s the foundation that you actually feel energized to multiply from.
You can hustle your way to the top and then write the story about how money doesn’t buy happiness because you learned how empty it is to feel so far removed from your sovereignty that all you have is money + viral numbers.
I’m here for the growth that starts by saying NO more than I say “yes” and centers the MOTHER that I am. The nurturer’s spirit. The one who tends the land, thanks the land, speaks to the water and receives without shame/guilt. That is why I love what I do!!!! We MUST have structures that we can soften into and we must tend to the garden with devotional consistency. We’re healing centuries of abuse, neglect, exploitation, violence, robbery, oppression, manipulation and survival patterns that have made us sick and a food system that has left even the wealthy malnourished. This is where we connect, come together, hold space, trade, play, make music, scream, move our bodies and honor the earth.
Here are my funky, anti-capitalist rules to contribute to decolonizing the workplace for SERVICE PROVIDERS:
We don’t work 40 hours a week from 9-5. We are synced with our cycle, plan our work priorities around the moon cycles, go OFFLINE often, and know our human design type. This also requires our partners to be on board!!! My husband KNOWS my schedule, he makes my breakfast and coffee, does the laundry, cleans the playroom, takes the kids, schedules the appointments, works full time - this is NOT extraordinary!!! This is the bare minimum. We center the nurturing + caretaking of everyone.
We don’t just sit at a desk all day. Yes, we serve our clients online, but we’re also in our local community centering BIPOC, immigrant-owned, and indigenous owned businesses. We buy from them, we ask how we can serve them, and we SING their businesses from the rooftops. (I NEED TO PRACTICE WHAT I PREECH HERE!!!!)
We don’t even THINK about being on our phone for the first hour of our day. Why? Our eyeballs, brain, nervous system, heart and SOUL need to see the sunshine, drink water, move our bodies and nourish our bellies first. Do not even THINK about inviting thousands of other people into your consciousness before you tend to your vessel.
We KNOW what our medicine is and we return to them intentionally with so much devotion. They can’t worm their way into our brains if our boundaries are FIRM and we’re aware of it. For me it’s ecstatic dance, listening to music, being outside and gathering with humans. Connection, belonging, PLAY.
We use words to create our reality. We cast SPELLS with our words. No more “I don’t know” YES you do. Speak with certainty. Decide and speak it with certainty. Of course it’s ok to not know things, but we’re SO conditioned to doubt ourselves and google something that that is second nature. If anything, say “I know how to figure that out”.
We CREATED an entity…so that we could be free…remember? So if you desire to go on a morning walk every day until 9:00 am and then sit in the sauna and meditate until 10:00 am, then you don’t start taking client calls or work until 10:30 am. Boom, that’s your life now! Or if you want to rollerblade to a soft disco playlist while you’re on calls to hype yourself up…do that! Get FUNKY here. And if you’ve created a business entity based on the capitalist GRIND…hire me as your OBM and I’ll help you shift that.
Stop over-explaining and undervaluing your work. I do not care what the market research is on comparable roles in your area. Email communication, slack communication, brainstorming, the time you spend thinking about how to solve a client issue at 10 pm…all VALUABLE. You decide how much money you need to make per month, determine how many clients you desire to work with at once, and then build your offers to support that. If I can give myself a $55/hr raise, you can too.
Do it in your most LOOOSE fitting pants, no bra, dirty hair and laugh LOUDLY (cackle if you can). We’re not performing for anyone. My daughter is watching.
Question EVERYTHING. Why do I need to post “x” times a day? Why should I have a weekly call? Why am I giving this away? What if I don’t work on Wednesday’s? Could it be easier than this?
Instead of using AI for EVERYTHING we’re using our beautiful, brilliant brains!!! We’re using our artist friends’ beautiful, brilliant creativity!! We’re asking our community who wants to help!! The humans have all of the skills we need to run our business. AI can be leveraged with intention (aka last resort resource), but we need to recognize how detrimental it is to the planet. I need to get better at this!!!
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for leading this movement alongside everyone who has been leading this movement for EVERRR. We’re passing out microphones, putting it on billboards, jumping into the lifeboat that we feel called to be in and going ALL IN.
I love you. Tell the truth, change your mind, and PLEASE don’t stop loving your people. Also - SHARE your funky anti-capitalist business practices!!!!!
