About erin

What if I told you that you don’t need a business degree or certificate to consider yourself an entrepreneur, or to start your own business?

Hey, I’m Erin and my pronouns are she/her/hers! I’m a mindset coach, writer, speaker, facilitator, and entrepreneur who is passionate about helping fellow entrepreneurs and creatives shift into their truth and power. My work is rooted in social and racial justice, and I am a staunch advocate of interrupting toxic masculinity. I’m also the founder of Terra Incognita Media, a feminist response to the outdoor industry.

Starting Terra Incognita Media, changed my life, but it didn’t happen overnight. My whole life I have always had an internal fire burning. It always felt like something big was brewing. In my early twenties, I had so much energy to learn, absorb information, and create something of my own that exemplified my truth and passions, all within the focus of dismantling the oppressive structures of white supremacy, capitalism, and patriarchy.

My background in writing, rock climbing, feminism and social justice, were leading me down an entrepreneurial path. With all of this energy, and having noticed how the mainstream outdoor media is full of toxic, individualistic, “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” narratives, I was busting at the seams to get started and create a feminist platform for the outdoor industry.

I knew I wanted to contribute my skills, talents, and gifts towards something bigger than myself, but I but didn’t have a clue where to start.

I lacked the structure and guidance, which meant learning on my own, going down rabbit holes, watching too many sales-y, dry, and corporate-feeling tutorials on how to build a business. It was hard to find material and content that aligned with my core values and beliefs. So I created my own path and learned from various teachers who reflected my values and held a shared vision along the way.

I have turned my lessons into a transformational program that will empower you to shift into your own emboldened leadership, and start your unique feminist brand, platform and/or business. We have all been conditioned to adopt some damning core beliefs, and I believe that a feminist approach to entrepreneurship can help us imagine and shift into liberatory and regenerative futures.

In our cishetero, white supremacist, patriarchal society, women-identifying folks are too often gaslit and questioned. This has a major impact on us and our psyches — emotionally, spiritually, physically, and psychologically. It can completely deter us from showing up in our purpose.

I am dedicated to being a guide, cheerleader, coach, and friend to YOU along your entrepreneurial journey because I know how hard it is to have a vision that no one else can see, and/or sometimes, understand.

Read more about my path to stepping into my truth and power below:

tHERE ARE NO BORN LEADERS: How I Went From Not Being Able to Order Chicken Nuggets at McDonald’s to Speaking Out Against Patriarchy and White Supremacy

In this photo I was facilitating the first Terra Incognita Media event at Red Point Climber’s Supply at so-called Smith Rock State Park, or Animal Village according to the Northern Paiute. Smith Rock is the traditional homelands of the Tenino and Northern Paiute peoples.

If you would have told me ten years ago that I would be standing on that wooden platform and speaking to a room full of people about feminism I wouldn’t have believed you! I had a desire to create a platform that challenged the mainstream narratives in the outdoor industry, which typically center the white, cis masculine gaze.

Unfortunately, this was still at a time when I was deeply mired in my white feminism. You can tell because there are a lot of white people in the room…

It’s important to acknowledge this and to hold myself accountable. I still make mistakes today, but I strive to never make the same mistake twice.

I deeply believe that we are all capable of building a life and business that truly reflects our values and aligns with our integrity. Terra Incognita Media is always shifting, growing, and evolving.

Do you have an inner fire that is calling you? Is there something tapping you on the shoulder about your purpose and mission? Do you feel driven, but not sure about your direction? I’ve been there.

When I started my journey of building Terra Incognita Media it appeared that there were only two ways to be. You could take the #Girlboss route, buy a lot of fashionable outfits, do a photo shoot, create a perfectly curated Instagram account, and “fake it until you make it,” or you go the Gary Vaynerchuk route, HUSTLE YOUR BRAINS OUT, and leave no room for intention and thoughtfulness. I ended up being exhausted, mentally and emotionally.

WHY THE MAINSTREAM APPROACH DOESN’T WORK

I deeply believe that doing “business as usual” is not sustainable on so many levels. It’s unsustainable on an individual, institutional, and systemic level. It’s unsustainable in regards to the environment, as well as our capacity as human beings. It’s unsustainable because “business as usual” is rooted in extraction and exploitation, white supremacy and capitalism, not interconnectedness and regeneration.

There is a way that is anti-oppressive, conscious, and mindful of the earth, of the people we work with, how we treat each other, and how we treat ourselves.

A feminist approach to entrepreneurship and business is one where we take into consideration the history of the land we occupy, the indigenous stewards of the land, and how we can be advocates for returning the land.

A feminist approach to entrepreneurship and business looks like holding ourselves accountable for our individual and unique positions of privilege and power, and how we can work to create safe(r) spaces in our spheres of influence.

WORKING WITH ME

I’m excited to share what I have found in my feminist approach to entrepreneurship — an approach that ditches the hustle, allows us to show up fully as ourselves, and keep our values intact!

My approach takes into account the varying access, abilities, and learning styles that goes into an entrepreneurial path. It’s important to me to be transparent about my position and privilege as an able-bodied, neurotypical, cishet white woman from an upper-middle class background. As a white woman it’s my responsibility to name the ways I have heightened privilege and access.

I strive to do this work through an anti-oppressive approach because I’m not trying to “break through the glass ceiling” or find a “seat at the table.” This leads to emulating white supremacy, patriarchy and capitalism.

MY MISSION

My mission has always been to help fellow women and femme entrepreneurs break from the fear of judgment, rejection, self-doubt, and uncertainty, so they can shift into their most authentic leadership and truth.

if you want to chat about your journey, where you’re stuck, and how I can help you…