162. Regenerative Systems of Change: Going Beyond Sustainability with Helen Tremethick
Building Sustainable, Equitable Businesses
Systems like patriarchy, capitalism, productivity, and urgency are extensions of white supremacy that support no one but especially don’t support those that have been historically and currently disenfranchised and marginalized by those same systems.
We all interact with these systems, but we don’t have to actively participate in them, even as business owners and leaders. Owning a business does not make you a capitalist.
There are ways to run our businesses and our lives that actively work against these extractive, oppressive systems and work toward sustainability and equity.
Helen Tremethick joins Erica for a conversation about resisting oppressive systems in your business and building a business that is rooted in equity and ethics.
Listen on your favorite podcast player or keep reading to learn:
The lies we tell ourselves that are tied to white supremacy and capitalism
What capitalism means as a system
What building regenerative systems mean in business and our communities
Why the act of noticing is the first step toward change
An Authentic Co-Conspirator
Helen Tremethick (she/they) is a Holistic Business Coach & Co-Conspirator for entrepreneurs who are ready to show up more fully (and authentically) in their lives and their businesses. Since 2011, Helen has worked with hundreds of business owners using a proprietary methodology called Love & Badassery, which combines contemporary business strategy, values-based business models, and a hefty dose of what makes you unique.
Helen lives on a permaculture farm in the Canadian countryside, which means if you ever hop on a call with her, you might hear roosters.
The Exploitation of Labor
On the Pause on the Play® podcast, Helen Tremethick first clarifies that when they discuss capitalism, “I’m not speaking about profit, I’m not speaking about commerce, I’m not speaking about trade or exchanging services. What I’m talking about is a system that profits off the exploitation of someone’s labor.”
The exploitation of labor and laborers, and the way our worth then becomes tied to productivity by extension, is what makes capitalism an oppressive, problematic system.
But she says that it is possible to think about business, commerce, and trade in ways that are regenerative, rather than extractive, but it takes unlearning.
They say when they first started their business, “the way that I perceived my time was one of the biggest unlearning for me in terms of the problematic aspects of capitalism and productivity.”
Even as a business owner, the pressure was there to be at her desk, always available to respond to emails, and client requests, to post on social media between nine and five.
It also played a part in how she priced her services. “I would price myself very, very low without meeting my needs, again followed. By this expectation of keeping my but in the seat and of that productivity being my worth."
Erica says that those aspects of productivity and capitalism often show up for those who have been disenfranchised when, “they are doing something to try to reclaim what they have not been given easy access to…And it’s this lie of how much can you do in the least amount of time, and that’s what equals your worth.”
And Helen says, equating productivity with worth “just perpetuates the trauma that all of us, but especially the global minority, have been experiencing for generations.”
Perfectionism, People-Pleasing, and the Lie of Exceptionalism
Oppressive systems also show up in us as perfectionism and people-pleasing, Helen says.
“Both of these are tools that keep us in this perpetual motion of feeling unworthy and not enough…When we try to make it perfect, all of our energy is being put into that carrot that is being dangled in front of us.”
But, she says she tells her clients, “Everything is iterative. I think that anything that is worth doing whole-assed is worth doing half-assed.”
They continue,“Launching your imperfect product is better than not launching it at all. Waiting until it is perfect is a tool that keeps you in a place where you feel like you’re not enough.”
In the business world, and particularly in the online business world, Helen says this comes up as “I did it, you can do it too.”
Business owners paint themselves as the hero of their journeys without acknowledging the systemic supports or inequities that enabled their rise.
“This seeps into our pores and it does not address the systemic inequities that do not allow people to rise up in that same way, that the people who are saying these things are people who often have a generational or ancestral wealth that are able to move through the world without having as many obstacles. And the ‘I did it, you can do it too’ statement really victim shames.”
Erica agrees and says, “the reason that that particular piece as a Black woman bothers me so bad is because, number one, you have the kind of American exceptionalism piece…[And] there is this thing, when you talk about the carrot being dangled, there is this lie of Black exceptionalism that shows up.”
She continues, “There’s [millions] of us that don’t have access, and you think that being able to point out one person regularly should be enough of a reason that I tell myself that I can do it too, and if I don’t it’s my fault.”
The pervasive lie of exceptionalism tells people that if they don’t succeed, “it’s never the conversation of well, you actually started off ten steps back from everyone else…It feels very Alice in Wonderland. You’re chasing a white rabbit.”
Notice the Lies
Erica says that the collective dismantling of white supremacy and oppressive systems has to happen in large part through the actions of white people, and the people who put those systems in place.
“Those of us that are victimized by it can basically figure out what it is that I am noticing that is a lie, that I don’t want to be into anymore…I think this is where we have to really pay attention to our personal expectations of ourselves and where we’re buying into something that is false.”
Recognizing where those false, white supremacist narratives have holds in our lives, creates the possibility to unfurl our personal expectations from the grasp of these unjust systems.
Helen agrees and says, “I think we don’t put enough emphasis on the act of noticing. So much happens in that noticing space before we can ever take action…And once we start noticing where the lies are, where we can do things differently, then we also start noticing the opportunities, and that’s where we can start making change.”
They say it’s an unlearning process to deconstruct how we’ve been told things are supposed to work, “and there is a great unlearning that needs to happen before we can start building up…So the very first part of this unfurling is unlearning and noticing.”
Once that starts happening, she continues, “then we can start noticing opportunities.”
And she says, we have to stay open to continually learning and to being self-forgiving when we make mistakes or fall back into the traps of the lies and structures we’re trying to dismantle.
Erica adds, “the reason a lot of these unjust systems are in place is because it gives you this mental control over people that you need to control in order to keep things going…If we don’t address where we are simply just assuming, well, I mean, I guess it’s fine…Then we can’t redo the systems with something that is more equitable.”
And she says it’s okay to not be entirely sure why something doesn’t feel right in order to change it. “I think sometimes people have nervousness around just acknowledging, I don’t know the way, and I don’t know what’s next, but I know it ain’t this.”
Building Regenerative Systems
Helen says that part of the reason it is so difficult to break these cycles and systems is a lack of models for doing it.
“We haven’t had the role models who have done it, who have shown that it is doable…We need to have role models of just and equitable businesses, just and equitable families, just and equitable communities. And those of us who are asking questions, those of us who are noticing the lies, those of us who are trying to decondition ourselves can then hopefully act as role models for others.”
On her farm, one way Helen models a more equitable system is by offering a sliding scale to their permaculture students, “so that the people who have more access to capital can help those who have less access to capital.”
In their business coaching, Helen tries to help her clients “re-establish their businesses so that they’re more equitable, so that they are profiting in a way that they can then give back to their communities.”
They also hire team members on-shore and pay a living wage.
Erica says, “when we shift our businesses and we put equity and regeneration at the front, it does change things. Not only, obviously, what we’re doing, but the outcomes and what other people can possibly have access for…It’s not just about…I’m only going to give you what I want you to have. It’s more about what can you have for yourself.”
Helen says this is the backbone of regenerative systems that go beyond net-zero or sustainability to systems that give back as a whole.
In business, that might mean a business model that allows the owner to do more than break even, while still providing great service to their clients in both paid and free ways, and that any member of their team is paid a living wage. That system then creates ripple effects in the communities of everyone involved.
They say, “A lot of my clients have money stories of scarcity and really not liking capitalism and therefore not liking money…Money is inherently neutral.”
And most people, if they were to suddenly become billionaires, “would redistribute their wealth, they wouldn’t sit on and hoard it like dragons. And so I think it’s really important for us to think about that when we think about regenerative design. How do we build in redistribution in a way that helps all of the aspects of this business, of this life, of this community, thrive?”
Erica acknowledges that many people are still trying to find their way to sustainability, but “once you are able to better care for basic needs and necessities for you and those that you care for, then it becomes, how does this then pour back in to create this conduit?”
Helen agrees. “We aim for what we can and then if we need to move that target toward us or further away, then we do. Because everything is iterative.”
Start Noticing
Helen says a key action anyone can take is to simply start noticing.
“Start noticing those lies; start noticing where you’re tied into the shoulds.”
They also suggest noticing word and thought patterns that come up when you’re wrapped up in the shoulds, or expectations of productivity.
Noticing those patterns will help you find “where you can take a breath, find more margin for yourself, and take the next action forward.”
Ready to Dive Deeper?
In order to build ethical, equitable businesses, it is vital to name your values. Naming your values requires you to be in alignment with what matters to you and why. If you’re clear on your values, you can chart a course that resists oppressive systems and prioritizes what truly matters to you and the impact you want to create.
If you want support in learning to lead through your values and getting explicit about what you support and how your actions are aligned with that, join us for the Implicit to Explicit Masterclass.
Learn more at pauseontheplay.com/explicit.