• The Cotswolds attracts American tourists and affluent expats seeking old-world charm.
• The area has long been favored by the British aristocracy. Nowadays, it's known as the 'Hamptons of England.'
• These photos show how this 800-square-mile area of the English countryside looks during fall.

With its fairytale cottages, quaint shops, and buildings older than the US, it's no wonder Americans are intrigued by, and increasingly flocking to, the Cotswolds.

Long favored by royals, aristocrats, and exhausted Londoners — including myself on many occasions over the years — it embodies country life in Britain and its old-world charm. In recent years, it has become a magnet for American tourists and affluent expats.

Here's what I saw when I spent a few days in the "Hamptons of England," learning how American newcomers and old money are learning to live alongside one another.

Stow-on-the-Wold always feels like a breath of fresh air from the hustle and bustle of London life.

The townhouses and inns in Stow-on-the-Wold — built using honey-colored local stone — look like they're from a fairytale. They're a far cry from the chaos and crowds of my hometown, London.

The town has held markets since medieval times — but instead of livestock and wool, I saw local dogwalkers and American tourists.

Many of the buildings in the market square, including pubs and galleries, are centuries old. The Porch House, a pub and inn, has timbers that have been carbon-dated as more than 1,000 years old.

There is history everywhere you go, especially in the town's church.

St. Edward's Church, located in the town center, was built in the early medieval period on the site of a former Saxon church, with additions made in the Victorian era.

Inside, a 17th-century painting depicting the crucifixion has hung in the church for almost 200 years.

The building itself is one of 98 Grade I listed buildings in the Cotswolds, meaning that it's considered to be of exceptional historic interest.

The church's north door, thought to have partly inspired "The Lord of the Rings," is one of many reason the town feels magical.

It is believed to have been J.R.R. Tolkien's inspiration for the "Doors of Durin."

Whether or not it was, the yew trees flanking the door are a sight to behold. Tourists love posing in front of it: The Stow and District Civic Society, a local historical preservation group, calls it the "most photographed door in the Cotswolds."

I briefly met a Texan family, all of whom were dressed impeccably, head-to-toe in tweed, and were excited to get a photograph taken by the door.

Stow-on-the-Wold has upmarket stores and quaint tea rooms. I treated myself to some delicious fudge.

Around the market square, and down narrow stone lanes, you'll find fancy boutiques selling everything from antique furniture to the essentials for the classic Cotswolds look: gilets, tweed, and Barbour jackets.

I didn't buy any of the more expensive items, but I did try some vegan vanilla fudge from a small fudge store. It was so good that I went back for more the next day.

About 10 miles away from Stow is Burford, known as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. It's cosmopolitan — and very hilly.

High on a hill with views of the River Windrush, the Oxfordshire town of Burford is having a renaissance. While lunch used to be mostly stodgy pub food, now, places like the Bull offer fine dining with a modern feel in the historic town.

As well as remarkable views of the countryside, I learned the hard way that its position on a hilltop means getting from one end of the high street to the other requires a steady climb.

I visited an adorably old-fashioned sweet shop, one of many family-owned businesses in Burford.

Walking into the Sweet Shop in Burford is like stepping into a British time capsule. Jars of boiled sweets, packets of fudge, and other quintessentially British offerings, like lemon sherbet, line its walls.

It's run by the O'Brian family. When I visited, Lauren O'Brian was behind the counter with her daughter, who was helping out after school.

I loved Burford's unusual mix of stores — including a bookshop that sold hats.

The Madhatter Bookshop in Burford is dimly lit, with intriguing displays of hats sold alongside the books. I never say no to a bookshop browse, and I loved the "dark academia" feel of this one. It felt cozy and the perfect place to spend a fall afternoon.

A few doors down on Burford's main street, I peeked into The Oxford Brush Company, a store entirely dedicated to bristle brushes and brooms. This eclectic mix of independent stores is offset by a chain supermarket.

I stumbled upon a patisserie run by a Michelin-trained pastry chef, where everything looked almost too pretty to eat.

The Hugo Lovage Patisserie, also located in Burford, sells luxury pastries to visitors, locals, and, according to its owner Cindy Kosmala, celebrities, too.

The macarons, eclairs, and cakes looked like miniature pieces of art, and tourists wandered in and out to photograph the items on display.

I drove to Daylesford Organic Farmshop, near Moreton-in-Marsh. I'd describe it as the 'Erewhon' of the Cotswolds.

If Erewhon is the most upscale and luxurious place to buy your groceries in Los Angeles, then Daylesford Organic Farmshop is the Cotswolds' equivalent.

It sells organic food and rustic home goods, such as sheepskin throws, caviar, tweed dog blankets. I didn't fancy spending £650 ($861) on a quilt, or £45 on a beef and stilton pie.

Its restaurant was one of the first in the UK to be recognized with a Michelin Guide Green Michelin Star, back in 2021.

It's where locals go to buy caviar and magnums of champagne. I usually just go to people-watch.

The deli counters serve fresh fish, colorful salads, and caviar. The shelves are lined with beautiful packaged condiments, such as a £16.50 organic hot sauce. The drinks section sells magnums of rosé wine — one bottle I saw cost £227.

In my few visits over the years, I've rarely bought anything. I just watch well-dressed people browsing and take in the extravagance of the place.

You can get red light therapy, cryotherapy, and other LA-esque treatments at Daylesford's Bamford Wellness Spa. They've done a great job at perfecting the 'countryside-chic' aesthetic.

The Club by Bamford and the connected Bamford Wellness Spa are where rural life meets LA wellness trends. There are reformer Pilates classes, $300 massages, and everything from sound healing treatments to cryotherapy. The bonfire outdoors and the converted barn gave the place a rustic but fashionable feel.

A few miles away is Diddly Squat Farm, one of the 'Clarkson's Farm' sites that has become a draw for American tourists. I wasn't impressed.

Diddly Squat Farm, with its long lines for the farmshop, and the Farmer's Dog, are tourist hot spots. I visited both, and left disappointed. Some companies offer tours of the sites, which provide a window into the show, as well as the history of farming in the Cotswolds.

The Cotswolds may be dubbed the "Hamptons of England" — but, in many ways, it feels quintessentially British.

While the comparisons between the Cotswolds and the Hamptons are easy to make, with their luxury shops, high-end spas, celebrity residents, and proximity to a big city, the Cotswolds are very much their own place.

There are centuries of history on nearly every corner, and the kind of charming British traditions you won't find on the eastern end of Long Island, be that having scones with clotted cream made at a local farm or cozying up in a pub with a cider brewed in the Cotswolds.

This wasn't my first time visiting, and it certainly won't be my last.

• EVs were once the future in the US. Now, they're at risk of short-circuiting.
• Policy changes, tariffs, and supply chain disruptions have sparked warnings of an EV deep freeze.
• One analyst told BI that the US was at risk of falling behind just as China's EV giants race ahead.

Electric vehicles are facing a perfect storm in the US — and it's threatening to throw the industry into a deep freeze.

A nightmare combination of policy changes, tariffs, and supply chain upheavals has prompted automakers that once set ambitious EV targets to revise their strategies, lay off workers, and double down on hybrids and gasoline vehicles.

CEOs have been sounding the alarm bells for a while.

The end of the $7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicles in September prompted Ford boss Jim Farley to predict that EV market share in the US would nearly halve to around 5% in the near term, while Tesla CEO Elon Musk warned in July that the company could face a "rough few quarters" as federal support for electric cars was rolled back.

The initial signs suggest they may have been right. After hitting a record in September as buyers rushed to beat the tax credit deadline, EV sales collapsed nearly 49% in October, according to data from Cox Automotive.

Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive's director of industry insights, told Business Insider that the rollback of government support would "shift the timeline" for EV adoption.

She estimated that EVs would now make up around 24% of new car sales by 2030, far from the aspirational target of half set by the Biden administration four years ago.

"We're not going to see a huge growth in the next couple of years," Valdez Streaty said, adding that a lack of affordable EVs was still the main barrier for adoption.

A perfect storm

With the outlook for EV demand looking decidedly chilly, carmakers are tightening their belts.

GM announced plans to lay off 1,750 workers last month, citing slowing electric vehicle demand after taking a $1.6 billion charge over changes in its EV strategy. Rivian also announced layoffs last month, equivalent to 4.5% of its workforce.

The global auto industry is still reeling from the impact of US tariffs and has faced a pileup of supply chain headaches, including a temporary shortage of crucial chips and a fire at a major Ford aluminum supplier.

"The whole combination of everything in the water right now is causing some automakers to either cancel or delay electric vehicle programs," Stephanie Brinley, an associate director at S&P Global, told Business Insider, adding that the impact would leave consumers with fewer choices over the next few years.

The combined effect of the tariffs and the EV slowdown has led some automakers to pull electric models from the US market entirely.

Nissan said in September it would stop selling its Ariya SUV in the US, a week before Honda cut its Acura ZDX electric crossover due to what it called "market conditions."

Meanwhile, Jeep has put some planned EVs for the US on hold, while Ram has canceled its all-electric Ram 1500 REV and is focusing on a plug-in hybrid pickup instead. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ford was considering scrapping its flagship F-150 Lightning electric truck.

Give it some gas

Facing heat from all directions, some automakers are doubling down on a tried-and-tested strategy: build more hybrids and combustion engine vehicles.

Toyota announced a nearly $1 billion investment this month to boost hybrid production in the US, while GM unveiled plans to build several new gas-powered vehicles in June as part of a $4 billion manufacturing overhaul.

These efforts have received a boost from the Trump administration, which opened the door for carmakers to sell combustion engine vehicles for longer by gutting emissions rules that levied massive fines on automakers who failed to sell enough EVs.

Speaking at a tech conference hosted by Barclays last week, Ford CFO Sherry House said she expected a "contraction" in the US electric vehicle market, adding the company would likely respond by investing in gas-powered vehicles like its Mustang and Raptor lines.

"We're going to be leaning into these products that are just passion products. I mean, these are vehicles that people love," she said.

Tesla switching gears?

One company that is confident it can ride out the EV winter is Tesla.

Musk may have warned of a bumpy road in the summer, but the billionaire has struck a more confident tone since then, telling investors this month he expects the company's AI and robotaxi initiatives to vastly boost demand for its vehicles.

Tesla also weathered the steep drop-off in EV sales in October better than its rivals, with deliveries falling 35.3% month-over-month compared to nearly 50% overall per Cox Automotive data.

The Texas-based company introduced cut-price versions of its most popular vehicles last month following the loss of the tax credit.

However, Tesla has not launched a new vehicle since the Cybertruck in 2023, and Musk has been clear that the company's future lies in its Optimus robot and Cybercab robotaxi, both of which he said are set to begin mass production next year.

Last year, the billionaire said it would be "pointless" for Tesla to build a more affordable non-robotaxi EV, suggesting the company's future may be less dependent on conventional vehicles.

"Tesla feels like a company that is maybe changing some of its direction in terms of where it expects its revenue to come from in five or 10 years," said Brinley.

Other automakers are racing to fill the affordable EV gap, with GM launching a new version of the Chevy Bolt starting at just under $30,000 last month and Ford teasing an electric truck set to roll out in 2027 at a similar price tag.

With electric vehicles still around $10,000 more expensive on average than their gas-powered counterparts, Valdez Streaty said that more affordable options are needed for EVs to shake off their winter blues and become mainstream in the US.

Without them, she warned that the US risks ceding the rest of the globe to China's EV makers. The likes of BYD have crushed foreign automakers in China, where more than half of new car sales are electric, and are now expanding rapidly in a host of global markets.

"The world's going electric, right? The Chinese players are continuing to innovate and come out with new products that are inexpensive and high-tech," Valdez Streaty said.

"With the delay in growing that market share in the US, I think there's a risk the US could fall further behind," she added.

• Black Friday online sales reached $8.6 billion by early evening, according to Adobe.
• AI-driven shopping traffic is expected to surge 600% as more buyers use AI tools online.
• Mobile shopping and Buy Now, Pay Later services fueled strong growth.

American shoppers are delivering a record-breaking Black Friday, with online spending already reaching $8.6 billion by early evening and projections suggesting the final tally could exceed initial forecasts, according to data from Adobe Analytics.

Black Friday online spending through 6:30 p.m. ET represents 9.4% growth compared to last year, slightly outpacing Adobe's earlier forecast of 8.3% growth for the day.

Adobe now expects consumers will spend between $11.7 billion and $11.9 billion by the time Black Friday concludes, up from its earlier projection of $11.7 billion. This would set a new single-day record for online shopping. Adobe also found that more buyers are turning to AI tools and Buy Now Pay Later options to make purchases.

The data comes from analyzing commerce transactions across over 1 trillion visits to US retail sites, covering 100 million products across 18 categories.

"Adobe surveyed over 1,000 US consumers and nearly half believe the best deals this season will come on Black Friday, pushing many to hit buy on products before Cyber Monday," said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, in a statement. "Given the strong spending so far today, we anticipate the final tally for online shopping on Black Friday will exceed our initial forecast."

The strong Black Friday performance sets the stage for what Adobe expects to be a robust Cyber Week, the five-day period spanning Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. The company forecasts that period will account for 17.2% of the entire holiday season's spending, totaling $43.7 billion, up 6.3% from last year.

Black Friday's hottest products

The hottest sellers so far include televisions, the newly released Nintendo Switch 2, Apple AirPods 4, and the Oura Ring 4. Kitchen items, such as KitchenAid stand mixers and storage containers, have also been flying off virtual shelves, along with washers and dryers, bicycles, and basketball hoops.

Adobe's survey found that 50% of respondents planned to shop for apparel and accessories online on Black Friday, followed by toys at 40% and computers and electronics at 36%.

The surge in spending has been fueled by discounts that ran deeper than analysts initially anticipated. Electronics saw the steepest markdowns at up to 29% off list prices, followed by toys at 28%, apparel at 25%, and televisions at 24%. Computers, appliances, furniture, and sporting goods all saw significant price cuts ranging from 19% to 23% off.

Buyers turn to AI and mobile shopping

Shoppers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence for help navigating deals and finding the right products. AI-driven traffic to retail sites, measured by shoppers clicking on links from AI assistants, is expected to surge 600% compared to last year.

In Adobe's survey, nearly half of respondents said they have used or plan to use AI for online shopping this season, primarily for finding deals, conducting product research, and getting recommendations.

The growing reliance on AI shopping tools comes as companies race to integrate the technology into the holiday shopping experience. Earlier this week, OpenAI introduced a shopping research feature in ChatGPT that builds personalized buyer's guides by asking clarifying questions and surfacing information from across the web.

Mobile shopping continued its dominance, accounting for 58.6% of online sales so far and driving $5.1 billion in spending, a 11.3% year-over-year increase. That represents a higher mobile share than last year's Black Friday, when phones and tablets accounted for 55% of purchases.

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services also experienced heightened activity, with the payment option expected to drive $761.8 million in Black Friday spending, representing an 11% increase from the previous year.

The vast majority of these installment purchases happen on mobile devices, which account for 82.4% of BNPL transactions this holiday season. Consumers are most likely to use the payment option for electronics, apparel, toys, and furniture.

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• Sunday Robotics hired several former Tesla staff members to work on its Memo home robot.
• Some Sunday Robotics staff previously worked on the Tesla Optimus and Autopilot programs.
• Sunday Robotics joins a growing field of startups creating advanced home robots.

After Sunday Robotics emerged from stealth mode last week, it revealed a team stocked with Tesla alums.

At least 10 former Tesla employees work at the robotics startup, including several longtime employees who were involved in Tesla's humanoid robot and self-driving efforts, according to a LinkedIn analysis.

Perry Jia, who worked on Tesla's Autopilot and Optimus programs for nearly six years, announced last week that he'd left the electric-car maker during the summer to work at the startup.

Nadeesha Amarasinghe also joined Sunday Robotics during the summer, his LinkedIn profile shows. He'd previously worked at Tesla for more than seven years, serving as an engineering lead for AI infrastructure, where he assisted with both Optimus and Autopilot.

Tesla's Autopilot and Optimus programs are among the company's most high-profile efforts. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the carmaker's ability to solve autonomous driving will determine its long-term value. He has also placed a heavy emphasis on the Optimus humanoid robot, saying the company aims to eventually ship millions of units capable of tasks ranging from factory work to personal care.

Sunday Robotics also has an array of former Tesla interns and Autopilot employees who have worked at Tesla over the past five years, including Jason Peterson, a former Optimus and robotaxi talent employee, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In total, the startup employs around 50 people, including engineers and "memory developers" who assist in training the robot, according to Sunday Robotics' LinkedIn page.

Tesla and Sunday Robotics did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Cheng Chi and Tony Zhao cofounded Sunday Robotics in 2024. Zhao interned on Tesla's Autopilot team in 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile.

On November 19, Sunday Robotics unveiled its home robot, Memo. Zhao posted a video on X that showed Memo picking up wine glasses, loading a dishwasher, and folding socks.

Sunday Robotics is one of many robotics startups that is building a home robot.

Most recently, robotics startup 1X unveiled the consumer-ready version of its Neo home robot in October. The company has said it plans to begin shipping the robot to customers next year.

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• Amazon workers launched the sixth annual "Make Amazon Pay" Black Friday protests.
• Actions targeted unsafe heat conditions, Amazon's AI expansion, climate impact, and ICE contracts.
• Strikes and rallies hit India, Germany, the US, Canada, Australia, and more.

Amazon workers in more than 30 countries launched coordinated strikes and protests on Black Friday, kicking off the sixth annual "Make Amazon Pay" campaign with what organizers say is the movement's largest mobilization to date.

The wave of walkouts, rallies, and demonstrations runs through December 1, spanning warehouses, data centers, offices, and public spaces worldwide. UNI Global Union, which represents millions of service sector workers worldwide, and Progressive International, a global network of labor and activist organizations, are organizing the protests.

Organizers say the actions reflect mounting frustration over everything from heat-related warehouse injuries and aggressive productivity pressure to Amazon's booming AI and cloud operations, rising climate impact, and its work with immigration and law-enforcement agencies.

"Amazon, Jeff Bezos, and their political allies are betting on a techno-authoritarian future, but this Make Amazon Pay Day, workers everywhere are saying: enough," said Christy Hoffman, general secretary of UNI Global Union, in a statement. "For years, Amazon has squashed workers' right to democracy on the job through a union and the backing of authoritarian political figures."

An Amazon spokesperson said in a statement, "The fact is at Amazon we provide great pay, great benefits, and great opportunities—all from day one. We directly employ more than 1.5 million people around the world, and provide a modern, safe, and engaging workplace whether you work in an office or at one of our operations buildings."

Amazon workers in India demand labor protections

This year, thousands of workers are rallying in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and more than 20 other Indian cities, demanding fair wages, safe conditions, and protection from extreme heat.

A UNI Global Union survey of 474 Amazon warehouse and delivery workers in India, conducted between June and July, illustrated labor concerns driving this year's actions. Three-quarters of respondents said they or a coworker required medical attention due to heat exposure. More than half reported "extremely hot and unsafe" or "unbearable" working conditions.

The findings come one year after India's Human Rights Commission called for an investigation into labor practices at an Amazon facility near New Delhi, where workers were reportedly discouraged from taking water breaks during a severe heat wave. Amazon workers in India also held protests over this last year.

"No worker should be forced to risk their health — or their life — for Amazon's bottom line," Hoffman said. "Heat protections must be enforceable, and workers themselves must have a say in setting the standards."

Protesters criticize Amazon's environmental impact and ICE ties

Over 1,000 Amazon corporate employees published an open letter criticizing the company's rollout of artificial intelligence. The letter argues that Amazon is abandoning its climate commitments to fund AI infrastructure, citing a $150 billion investment in new data centers despite the company's pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2040.

The employees demanded that Amazon power all data centers with renewable energy, establish worker committees with authority over AI deployment decisions, and refuse to provide AI technology for what they describe as "violence, surveillance, or mass deportation."

The expanded agenda of "Make Amazon Pay" this year emphasizes what organizers call a "techno-authoritarian future" — the convergence of Big Tech companies with authoritarian political forces. The coalition said that Amazon funded Trump's inauguration and that the company's recent filings show it paid $1.4 billion less in taxes.

Outside of Amazon, organizers planned protests across multiple US cities, including Chicago, Newark, New York, Oakland, San Bernardino, and Washington, D.C. Demonstrators are focusing on Amazon's work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, demanding the company stop providing infrastructure they say powers the agency's deportation operations.

"Amazon is no longer just a retailer — it is a pillar of a new authoritarian order built on surveillance and exploitation," David Adler, co-general coordinator of the Progressive International, said in a statement. "From ICE raids to the repression of Palestinians, Amazon's technologies are woven into systems of violence worldwide."

Amazon workers call for unionization efforts

In Germany, the services union Verdi coordinated work stoppages at nine logistics facilities, Reuters reported. About 3,000 workers participated, according to the union, which continues to seek a collective bargaining agreement.

Amazon maintains about 40,000 employees at German logistics centers, plus 12,000 additional seasonal hires for the holiday rush. The company told Reuters the walkouts would not affect customer deliveries and that its compensation is competitive.

Additional protests took place in Canada, where CSN, a major trade union, and CTI, an advocate for immigrant workers, held a demonstration in downtown Montreal, calling for a boycott of Amazon.

The protest followed Amazon's closure of several Quebec distribution centers that resulted in 4,500 job losses, CityNews Montreal reported. Union leaders accused Amazon of retaliating against workers' unionization efforts, with one organizer noting the timing between the unionization of a warehouse and Amazon's decision to close facilities in the region.

Other actions occurred in Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Nepal, Brazil, Bangladesh, Colombia, Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Greece, the UK, South Africa, and Gaza.

Amazon workers achieved some union victories in 2025. A warehouse in Delta, British Columbia, has become the first Canadian Amazon facility to gain union representation after labor officials ruled that the company improperly interfered with the organizing campaign. Amazon is contesting the ruling.

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This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tori Dunlap, the 31-year-old founder and CEO of Her First $100K, a financial education company geared toward Gen Z and millennial women. She's also an author and podcast host based in Seattle.

Dunlap saved and invested $100,000 by the time she was 25 years old, which became the origin story of her company. She credited her ability to save such a large sum at a young age to a combination of privilege and hard work, and graduating debt-free thanks to her college fund from her parents and the three jobs she worked while in school.

In June 2025, she spoke with Business Insider about why she chose to rent, rather than buy, her home, despite being a millionaire. At the time, renting fit her season of life due to its flexibility, convenience, and lower costs, but she said she didn't think she'd do it forever. She has since purchased her own home.

Dunlap also previously shared about how she and her partner navigate finances in their relationship, given their difference in income. Dunlap's partner earned $60,000 in 2024, working multiple jobs within the athletics and education space, as well as side gigs such as dog-sitting and private training.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I founded Her First $100K when I was 25 to fight financial inequality by giving women actionable resources to better their money.

I didn't build a business to work so hard that I burn myself out. That's why I left a 9-to-5 job. I built a company culture where we do really important work, but we say all the time, "We're not curing cancer."

Here's what a workday in my life is like.

My day usually begins around 7:30 a.m.

I'm not up at 5 a.m. drinking my lemon water because I like my sleep. I'm not a coffee drinker, so if I don't get at least eight hours of sleep, I'm a little grumpy.

If I have to be up early for a flight, a podcast, or a press interview, that's going to impact my wakeup time, but if I have control of my schedule that day, I'm usually up about 7:30 a.m.

As soon as I get out of bed, I check my phone. I know I shouldn't be doing so, and I don't love that I do, but I do. I check emails and Slack, our social content's performance, and my texts from friends.

Then I do what my friend Liz Moody talks about as a "circ walk" — a circadian walk. The idea is that if you can get sunlight in your eyes as soon as possible after waking up, your digestion improves, you feel more awake throughout the day, and your metabolism's better. Honestly, it just makes me feel really good.

I bought a home close to the water, so I walk to the beach. Sometimes, the walk is only 10 minutes. Other times, it's a half hour.

For breakfast, I usually split a berry chocolate protein smoothie with my partner. I've been drinking a version of that since 2016. He usually makes that while I'm doing chores around the house or preparing for calls.

I usually start work around 9 a.m.

I always find mornings to be most productive for me. I might have meetings with my team, be getting on a flight to speak somewhere, or just be answering emails.

Thursdays typically are our recording days. I record my own podcast, and then I may go on someone else's show.

My company is fully remote. Those of us who live in Seattle try to see each other and work together once or twice a month. It's nice to gather in person, but since we have people all over, we also offer virtual coworking on Zoom. That's one way we keep up our company culture, even though we're remote.

Lunch is a nice break for me

I usually cook lunch myself, or I have leftovers from the night before. Sometimes my COO comes over to cowork with me, and we might order lunch.

I really try not to eat while working. It's a nice break, and I try to take at least half an hour.

I'll usually watch a TV show, such as on Food Network or the Try Guys. I dream of being a guest judge on the Food Network, so I'm studying up. I've worked with the Try Guys before; I politely bullied them until they let me in, which is how I've gotten every opportunity in my business — just politely asking until they say yes.

I do things around the house during breaks

In the afternoons, I sometimes have more meetings and interviews. I also try to sneak in my actual work in between those — creating content, being the public face of the company, working on my next book proposal, and CEO work of big vision planning, thinking about our strategy, and testing certain things.

If I have breaks between tasks, I usually try to get something done around the house. I'll throw in a load of laundry or tidy up. I have a house cleaning service come twice a month, and honestly, I'll probably move to once a week because it's really nice and frees up my time.

Taking time during the workday is something that we've built into our work and fully approve of and support through our company policies. We're a team of all women — six full-time employees and nine contractors. People have lives outside work.

Our full-time employees already have unlimited PTO, but if someone needs to take the afternoon or a half hour off, they can do so without needing approval.

We also have menstruation leave at Her First $100K. As a menstruating founder, I lose at least five days a month to feeling gross, plus another few days during the luteal phase, during which I feel like an insane person. Men don't have to deal with these things.

We also have quarterly weeks off for our employees during which they're paid, but the entire company pauses.

My workday typically ends around 5 p.m.

If it's a standard day, I'm off at 5 p.m. and I won't touch my laptop again. If I get an idea or a spark, I'll sometimes open my laptop after dinner or at 10 p.m., because I genuinely enjoy working on my business, but I don't expect this of any of my other team members.

After work, I'll typically either cook dinner, meet friends, or go out for date night. If I'm having dinner at home with my partner, our go-to option is splitting a salad kit and adding chicken because it's healthy and quick.

Usually, after dinner — and I'll sometimes do it in the morning, too — I do barre. It's my workout of choice, and I try to do it three times a week.

I used to think that working out was about getting as skinny as possible. One of the things I love about barre is that you show up, make modifications, do the exercises that are right for you, and get as strong as you can. It really positively affected my relationship with fitness and with my body, and I think it has 100% affected the way I show up as a business owner.

I read and journal before bed

My partner and I might watch an episode or two of our show — right now, we're watching Money Heist — or do some reading. I'm a big reader, and so is he. When I don't read, I don't feel as good. Currently, I'm reading "Wild Dark Shore," a novel. I track every book that I read.

I read a variety of genres, including fairy smut fantasy, murder mystery thrillers, and general literary fiction. I read very little nonfiction because my entire life is a nonfiction book, and books are my escape.

I try to journal every single night, and I've done so almost every night for the last five or six years. The journal has been a huge part of helping me become the best person I can be and process my thoughts.

I try to be in bed with the lights out at 10:30 p.m., but usually that ends up being 11.