Formulaic business success is a lie.

In the internet age, anyone can call themselves an entrepreneur –– without the knowledge or experience of what it takes to actually build a business.

But there is no simple process that can take you from couch surfing at your grandma’s house to being a self-made millionaire in one year, unless that “formula” relies on fake followers, bogus credibility, exaggerated claims, psychological manipulation, and deceptive business practices.

This isn’t a formula at all, it’s financial and emotional abuse masked as normal online business best practices. In many cases it’s a crime, and it’s rampant in the online coaching industry.

Not surprisingly, the “fake it till you make it” model of entrepreneurship is unsustainable, unhealthy, and unattainable for those with less financial privilege and an actual conscience.

Entrepreneurs are burned out by the toxicity of hustle culture. Consumers are fed up with over-hyped services and exorbitant prices. Even the boss babes and crypto bros are trying to pivot their messaging to be more “ethical.”


WHAT EXACTLY IS AN ETHICAL BUSINESS? AND HOW DO WE EVEN BEGIN TO BUILD ONE?

ETHICAL BUSINESS IS NOT A TREND, IT’S A NEW PARADIGM.

You cannot ‘pivot’ into an ethical business practice with surface-level changes to your marketing copy. It’s not possible to be ethical if you are using the same age-old systems that perpetrate and perpetuate cyclical trauma. Ethical business is more than just another buzzword or marketing gimmick: It’s a revolution. You must disrupt traditional business models and flip this pyramid-shaped industry on its head. Whether you are new to business or a seasoned entrepreneur, this course will set the foundation for you to truly build an ethical business from the inside-out.

IMPACT OVER INCOME

Ethical business is born out of the readiness to understand and educate ourselves about the wider issues we face as a society – like wealth inequality, economic collapse, and environmental degradation, and a burning desire to do business from a more honest and authentic place. It’s a purpose-driven model where we no longer measure our business in dollar signs and social media metrics, but by how much we are able to make the world a better place – or, at the very least, a less shitty one. It calls for a trauma-informed, transparent way of approaching our business that redefines success as we know it.

Enrollment is open

If you’re ready to ditch the new age buzzwords and focus on meaningful change like integrity, decolonization of business models, anti-racism in marketing, trauma-informed messaging, and spiritual values, this course is for you!

Enroll now

Ethical Entrepreneurship Course Overview

The Ethical Entrepreneurship online course offers a foundational understanding of ethical business and everything you need to know to reduce harm in your own coaching practice, from how to identify ethical issues in business to new strategies and metrics for doing business in ways that don’t skew your moral compass or harm your clients. Learn what each module entails below.

    1. Course Overview, Outcomes, and Meet Your Presenters

      FREE PREVIEW

    1. Intro to Ethics in Coaching

    1. Mitigating the Potential for Harm

    1. Building an Ethical Business

    1. Building an Ethical Brand

    1. Where to go from here

About this course

  • $150.00
  • 6 lessons
  • 11 hours of video content

Ethical Business Takeaways

After taking this course, you will have a foundational understanding of:

  • The ethical responsibilities of coaches and business owners as they apply to diversity, inclusion, decolonization, anti-racism, trauma, and economic inequality

  • Skills required for ethical leadership

  • What trauma informed care is, why it’s important, and what it means for you and your business

  • Why traditional business is harmful and how ethical business is different than business as usual

  • Predatory marketing and business tactics and why they are harmful

  • Your legal responsibilities as a business owner

  • How to build a brand without building a cult

Ethical Business Learning Objectives:

  • Safety

    Create a safer, more welcoming and inclusive environment to better support your clients

  • Integrity

    Begin to minimize harmful impacts in your business model and business approaches to the benefit of yourself and your business relationships

  • Professionalism

    Develop ethical leadership skills and apply them to the way you do business

  • Social Responsibility

    Identify, evaluate, and remove common harmful, unethical, or illegal business practices

  • Purpose-driven

    Shift your business from a sales driven model to a purpose-driven model by changing your goals and mindset in impactful ways that minimize harm

  • Sustainability

    Implement different, ethical tools and measurements for business success

This course is for you if:

  • Your’re considering starting an online business or a coaching business but want to build it ethically

  • You already have an established business and want to feel better about how you’re doing business

  • You’re a coach of any kind who wants to build and sustain an ethical practice

  • You’re a marketer or freelance professional who wants to make your services more ethical

  • You’re a consumer or potential client who wants to learn how to identify ethical red flags in businesses and coaches you are considering buying from

What's included

Here's everything you'll receive in Ethical Entrepreneurship Online Course:

  • Resources

    Each module includes downloadable resources and links to help you continue your professional development between modules and after the course is over, including an ethics handbook.

  • Prompts

    Simple, open-ended questions that you can use as homework assignments to help you start to shift the way you think about business and your ideas of success.

  • Community

    Access to a moderated Facebook group with other coaches, entrepreneurs, and online business professionals who are taking the course and/or actively deconstructing their businesses.

About Your Instructors

Meet Ash and Margarit

Ash Riley

Educator & Consultant

I am a trained journalist and business consultant with nearly two decades of marketing and advertising experience in retail, ecommerce, tech, nonprofit, business-to-business, and higher education. I'm experienced in marketing, branding, and operations initiatives with companies ranging from early stage startup to $20M in annual revenue. As an advocate for ethical, socially responsible, and trauma-informed approaches to business, entrepreneurship, and management, I educate business owners on the intersection of business and social systems to catalyze a culture shift toward a more conscious paradigm of business and marketing. I apply a cross-disciplinary, systems-thinking approach to deconstruct the negative psycho-social impact of capitalism on humanity and devise ethical strategies to reduce or eliminate harm.

Margarit Davtian

Educator & Consultant

I am a social scientist, ethical business consultant, and public educator who is passionate about advocating for social responsibility. I have 14 years of higher education, research, and professional training combined and have worked across nonprofit, corporate, and academic settings in social change innovation. My objective as a social change innovator has always been to help entrepreneurs, creatives, and scientists solve some of society’s most pressing problems. In addition to consulting for brands and businesses, I raise public education in basic media literacy and critical thinking skills to help everyday people combat misinformation and become conscious consumers. As a cult survivor myself, I also provide cult education, intervention, and recovery support.

Watch the intro

Watch the course intro to get a feel for what we’ll be talking about.

FAQ

  • HOW LONG IS THIS COURSE?

    This course is made up of four modules which are approximately 2-3 hours each, plus a short intro and outro. The total running time for the four main modules is 10 hours.

  • WILL I BE ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS?

    You’ll be able to ask course-related questions and engage with other students in the Facebook group. Feel free to join, introduce yourself, and engage!

  • HOW MUCH DOES THIS COST?

    The course is $150 US dollars. No, we’re not kidding. It was important to us to make it accessible to both business owners and consumers because we feel the information is so valuable.

  • IS THIS COURSE WORTH IT IF I'M NOT A COACH?

    This course is absolutely worthwhile for anyone and everyone who is interested in learning more about ethical business. Many of the examples we give are specific to the coaching industry but are easily applied to other types of businesses. It’s also packed full of red flag education for consumers who want to be more discerning about who they work with.

  • HOW DEEP IS THE KNOWLEDGE IN THIS COURSE?

    While the full course is 10 hours and it is packed with tons of information, it is still only a foundational course. It serves as a starting point for further learning, inquiry, and in terms of decolonization, anti-racism, DEI, and trauma-informed care, a precursor to in-depth skills training with a professional. Nothing in this course is meant to be a DIY guide, per se, other than some initial steps and guidance toward implementing harm reduction.

  • WILL I RECEIVE A CERTIFICATE?

    This course does not provide any kind of certification.

  • HOW LONG WILL THE COURSE BE ACCESSIBLE?

    This course is hosted on Thinkific where you’ll have lifetime access.

Build a purpose-driven business, starting today

Enroll today