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8. Betting on Yourself with Rachel Downey
18 Plays2 years ago
She’s most proud of not quitting. But she certainly considered it.
Rachel Downey, Founder of Share Your Genius, has worn a lot of hats—and not just because she majored in Theater. From digital marketer to bartender, Rachel was used to juggling jobs and making ends meet. Yet, she didn’t trust herself. Was she smart enough? Were her dreams big enough?
She tried climbing the corporate ladder, but offices weren’t for her. She came, she saw, she felt… trapped. “Corporate life felt like a cage.” Though she’d always been attracted to entrepreneurship, it took a forced hospital stay with her premature daughter to seriously rethink her work/life priorities.
It was time to stop telling herself what wasn’t possible.
Learn how she stepped out on her own, built a B2B podcasting company, burned it all down (not really, but sort of…), and rebuilt her business in a more authentic, flexible, and sustainable way. All it took was a hard-won mindset shift, a global pandemic, and a little sticky note that arrived at just the right moment.
For more inspiration, subscribe to Unbound Turnarounds on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!
LINKS:
- Connect with Nicole
- Connect with Mallory
- Connect with Rachel: www.shareyourgenius.com/
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Transcript
Welcome to Unbound Turnarounds
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to Unbound Turnarounds, a podcast all about the challenges women business owners think about constantly, but rarely voice.
Meet Your Hosts: Nicole and Mallory
00:00:11
Speaker
We're Nicole and Mallory, entrepreneurs, friends, and co-founders of Business Unbound, a community helping women alleviate the headaches, heartaches, and backaches so work actually works for life.
Creating a Safe Space for Women in Business
00:00:23
Speaker
This is your safe space for the ups, downs, and the turnarounds.
00:00:33
Speaker
Welcome back everybody. We're so glad you're here. Nicole, how are you today? I'm doing okay. I feel like we've made it to the end of the week and I am, I'm feeling pretty good about it. How are you? Me too. It's Friday when we're recording this. And I got to talk to you a ton this week. So I love that. That's true. This will come out on a Wednesday, but that'll be the middle of the week. So when you're listening, it should be fine too.
00:00:58
Speaker
Well, we're pretty stoked about our new guests today. Nicole, tell everybody who we have.
Introducing Guest Rachel Downey
00:01:04
Speaker
Yeah. So today we are chatting with Rachel Downey. She's the founder, CEO and executive producer of Share Your Genius. It's an award-winning podcast production company based in Carmel, Indiana. And that is back where I met her. And a fun side note, a little plug. This is the team that produces our podcast. So we love them especially.
Exploring Origin Stories of Women Entrepreneurs
00:01:23
Speaker
So with a strong background to connect with people and understand the B2B marketing world, live performances, and organizing events, she is just really passionate about empowering impact-driven brands and visionary leaders to create content that fosters human connection, builds real community, and achieves remarkable business outcomes. So Rachel, welcome to the podcast that you helped us start. Well, thank you for having me. Appreciate the opportunity. Super fun.
00:01:51
Speaker
Of course. So just as a little reminder for listeners in this first season, we are digging into origin stories. So we're talking about why women chose to go on this different path, start their own businesses and really connect that why back to their business when the ups and downs and turnarounds come. So that's what we're all about today. And just to get us started, I'd love to hear about your early career, which was quite varied as I remember.
Rachel's Career Journey and Self-Doubt
00:02:20
Speaker
Yes, before share your genius, what was I doing? Sometimes I forget. Um, like it is hard. Sleeping nights, possibly. Honestly, I'm like, I don't know. So I think that the pivotal career opportunities that I had, one is I worked for a content marketing agency for a long time.
00:02:38
Speaker
And that was kind of where I understood and had the opportunity to learn what content marketing was all about, work with clients and help them achieve actual business outcomes. And so that was pretty significant in the way that I've been able to adapt what that experience was like into what we're doing here at Share Your Genius. Before that company, the only thing of note that I would say is I worked for like a language company and I had kind of a fun opportunity to travel with the LPGA and we had,
00:03:05
Speaker
We like sponsored a player or two. And so we would do films with them and commercials. And that was kind of fun and different. But the truth is both of those primary corporate jobs, I would say I quit both of them. And I had a period of time that I quit and didn't know what I was going to do.
Entrepreneurial Beginnings and Balancing Life
00:03:23
Speaker
And so I went to law school and law school. That's logical.
00:03:28
Speaker
Yes. Like, like why? That's correct. Um, and that was kind of that moment in time where, you know, I was in law school and I was doing some freelance marketing work. And then that was where Shara Jean just started to be born. Now, did any of this have anything to do with your actual degree? Did you go to school for any of this? So I was a theater major. Okay. So no. Yeah. Got it. Makes sense. That's fun though.
00:03:53
Speaker
Yeah, that's how it goes. You do bring up an interesting point though about how I think it's a thing that we do as women culturally where we think we need more education or we don't know what we're doing. So we just go get more education thinking that's the solution instead of tapping in and really like doing that inner work to figure out what the next step is. Is that kind of what the situation was for you or does that not align?
00:04:16
Speaker
Well, I think the thing that I struggled with for a long time, which is what led me to law school is I kind of always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur in some way, shape or form. Like I'd always been doing some side hustle stuff. Like even when I had a full job, I was building websites or, you know, how sitting in college and, you know, I was always doing something and I worked at a bar for 14 years while I held a corporate job. Like I was always doing something that kept myself busy in some way, shape or form.
00:04:42
Speaker
But to answer your question, I had always struggled with the self-doubt of being smart enough. Like I never thought I was smart enough. Like me going to law school was kind of me saying, no, I'm smart enough. Like I'm good enough to be at law school. I'm smart enough because I'm here around people that are smart. You know what I mean?
00:04:58
Speaker
And so I think that was kind of my escape. And it also gave me a opportunity to quit my job at that content marketing agency. Like it gave me an out that I felt like explained while I was quitting. And so that's what led me there. You're like, here's my resume filler. And also the reason people can be excited for me that I'm leaving. Yeah.
00:05:18
Speaker
Yes. Exactly. Uh-huh.
Catalysts for Change: Leaving Corporate Life
00:05:20
Speaker
Well, I don't think you're alone in that. I mean, that means it's completely logical about feeling like you need to prove it, even though I don't think that was your right path because look where you are now. So what was it that wasn't working for you in that corporate life? Was it challenging working for other people or what was it that you didn't like that you were trying to leave?
00:05:41
Speaker
You know, it sounds crazy, but it doesn't sound as crazy as it did before. But the thing that I really felt like I experienced in sort of a more corporate environment is I actually felt like I was in a cage in a way, even from like, you have to be at a desk, you know what I mean? From nine to five or whatever it was. I actually like felt claustrophobic in a way. And so that's why I worked at the restaurant for so long is because in my mind, it was kind of my backup plan. I quit that job that the language company literally
00:06:11
Speaker
It was like, I had like a horrible situation. It actually ties to the scenario that we were talking about being smart enough is I was doing their, it was like a marketing coordinator kind of person. And I was updating their business cards and I misspelled the word language on the business card, which is so like, duh, like, oh my gosh. But I misspelled it and I caught the mistake after I sent it to print, but I was so panicked that they would see that I made this mistake that I paid for it to get fixed.
00:06:40
Speaker
out of my own pocket and I was making like $30,000 a year. You know what I mean? So it was like, whatever. So I paid for it out of my pocket and there was an email thread that the CEO had included me on and I read down, I shouldn't have read down, but I read to the bottom of the email thread and he asked if I was stupid. He was asking my direct report if I was stupid. I'm not joking. I'm not joking.
00:07:05
Speaker
And I read that email and I quit on the spot. I walked into the office. I interrupted you. Yes. I like interrupted there like stand up with all the executives and I said, Hey, this is my last day. I'll see you later. Oh my God. That was one of the reasons I don't even know how we got there, but it was kind of like that thing though, where it was like, I'm not stupid. I'm not stupid. And it like pissed me off and I quit. But every time I was in a more corporate structured environment, I felt trapped. I felt stopped.
00:07:35
Speaker
Yeah. That is definitely a feeling that resonates with me. Yeah. To the point where I, at the end of my corporate career, I was just doing everything I could to work in a different place, a different way, like any meeting out of the office, anything I could do at home. I think it was for me, like this sense of control, like I just need to have some control over my life.
00:07:59
Speaker
And I didn't feel like I had that. So it definitely like feeling like a cage resonates with me big time.
Pivots and Health Challenges
00:08:06
Speaker
Yeah, totally.
00:08:07
Speaker
So there were parts of those jobs though, that I feel like did prepare you for your journey later. So what were some of the pieces of knowledge that you got? You mentioned kind of this content marketing piece, working with clients. What were some of the pieces that you were able to salvage from that particular dumpster fire that you took later and you were like, all right, well, at least I'm going to take this. I'm going to take this and I'm going to take it somewhere else that I love.
00:08:32
Speaker
Yeah. So I mentioned I was a theater major and all through school I was working and I had different jobs and I really got into marketing while I was in college. I had the opportunity to be an intern under a phenomenal marketer in the B2B space. And so I had the opportunity to learn from him on what social media was and all of those things led to different opportunities. And so in all of my jobs, I was in digital media in one way, shape or form.
00:08:57
Speaker
When I worked at the content marketing agency, they really taught me like process and frameworks. And honestly, I was way under qualified to be their client success person. Disagree, but okay. Well, yes, there we go. There's the self-doubt. But my point on that is that they put me in rooms that in my mind, I wasn't ready for. And what that did for me, it was a forcing function. Like I would write out scripts of how I would run the meetings so that I would have smart questions to ask.
00:09:26
Speaker
And so that I would know like what I was going to do in that meeting. Cause it was like, I have an hour in this meeting. What am I doing? But like all of those little things helped me as we work with our clients now, it helped me understand the impact of media and how it drives to creating business outcomes, which is what content marketing really is all about. Yes. Makes sense.
00:09:46
Speaker
So as an entrepreneur, and we'll get into that piece of your story here in a little bit, but did you find that you had both the kind of process systems back end side of things and the front end client side? Did you get both of those pieces from these past careers kind of running at the business and the face of the business, I guess.
00:10:06
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's a really fair assessment. I hadn't thought about it like that before, but I actually did have the opportunity to kind of work the, both the right and left brain, if you will. And then I mentioned like I was a theater major. So like performance was a thing that I just kind of knew when I was trained on those things. And so I think all of those things together created a really unique opportunity for me to really launch what we're doing now, which is brand storytelling. It's leveraging media, podcast, et cetera.
00:10:32
Speaker
Yeah. So I don't know if I have the timeline exactly right, but you put in a decade or more with corporate life and then you mentioned that you had kind of started share your genius or like bits of it. Maybe it was in college you said, but then where was the big pivot to move fully into that entrepreneur space and what was the catalyst for that?
00:10:52
Speaker
Yeah. So I was in law school when I was doing freelance marketing, essentially full-time as my income while still attending bar. So like I never quit that because that was my backup plan, right?
Building Share Your Genius: Flexibility and Family
00:11:02
Speaker
Yeah. Or from a cash perspective. Yeah. So that's what I was doing while I was at law school. And while I was in law school, I ended up having a baby. So in 2016, I was having a baby and she ended up being born.
00:11:16
Speaker
three months early. So she was born in the summer of 2016, three months early. And so what happened is I found myself sort of for the first time in my life with the forcing function of having to do nothing. And it was like, guess what? You are stuck in a hospital room and you are not leaving this hospital room because we don't want you to have this baby this early. Like you need to stay in this room.
00:11:40
Speaker
And I started to kind of spiral a little bit, like that feeling of being trapped was magnified because I actually could not leave. And so I spent a lot of time watching like HGTV and just trying to stay out of the scaries, you know what I mean, in your brain.
00:11:58
Speaker
But at some point you get tired of watching TV and I started to then listen to podcasts. And I just like found myself listening to podcasts because it kept me in a happy place. It kept me in a productive space. It kept me in a positive, like abundant mindset. And that happened. She was born. She ended up still being born three months early. She's like, I don't care what your plan is. She was like, you're doing your thing.
00:12:23
Speaker
So I was in the hospital for like two and a half weeks, which is not that big of a time, but in that moment it feels like a long time. And then not knowing how long it's going to be. You didn't know. Yeah, it was very ridiculous. But she ended up being born. And again, I just found myself back at the hospital.
00:12:41
Speaker
Now I could leave and come back and that kind of thing, but I was back at the hospital. And so my plans for going to school kind of changed. And I had to try and figure that out. At the same time, I had a friend reach out to me and he said, Hey, I'm launching a podcast. Will you help me promote it? And I was like, I could do that while I was at the hospital. He didn't care what time I worked. You know what I mean? And so I started to do that and then started to connect the dots where I was like, wait a minute, what would it look like if I could work from the hospital or work from anywhere?
00:13:10
Speaker
and make some money and kind of figure out what my daughter's life was about to look like. And so that was the beginnings of what ultimately has become Share Your Genius. Wow. Yeah, I did not know that part of the story, but I do think it makes sense to a lot of women when they just hear that forced function of not being able to do what you normally do. And the flip side of being so used to being busy that then when you have this blank space,
00:13:34
Speaker
Your brain kind of freaks out about it, right? It doesn't know what to do. It's like, we are multitaskers. Some of us Mallory's not. Bless her. You know, it's something literally where that's part of the reason that I listened to podcasts 24 hours a day is my brain needs something to chew on so that it doesn't eat myself. Like
00:13:54
Speaker
That's what I need is just like poor content in here, you guys. There's no amount of content that is too much to keep me from devouring myself. So that to me definitely resonates of just being like blank space, not good, can't be in here. But you were able to pivot and make that like a really productive time and just be open to the idea of something new and different. So yeah, yeah.
00:14:21
Speaker
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00:14:41
Speaker
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00:15:10
Speaker
How did people around you react when you were like, you know what? I had this idea. I know that I've done 16 things so far, but now I'm thinking podcast company? Yeah, maybe. Like who are your supporters? What were their reactions from like family and friends?
00:15:28
Speaker
Yeah, I love that question. It's funny cause you know, I mentioned like I was always having my hands in something and trying to figure out something cause I was like, I want to be an entrepreneur, you know? And I think my friends were just like, yep, sure. Makes sense. She's trying out something else. Okay. Do you know what I mean? Whatever. But I would say like my husband was like the biggest catalyst in terms of like the support and just like letting me be me. Mm-hmm.
00:15:50
Speaker
I distinctly remember the conversation that I had with him. So at that point, Lynn and my daughter who had been in the hospital, she had come home about three months after she was born. And I remember talking to Austin, my husband, and I was like, Hey, you know, I'm talking to Jim, who was the one I helped launch a podcast with. And I was like, how much money would I need to make to, you know, just go do this thing? And he told me he was like, and it wasn't very much. I think it was like $400 a week or something like that. And he was like, if you can just bring home that you can go do whatever you want.
00:16:19
Speaker
And not that he wouldn't have let me do whatever I want anyway, but he was just like, that's what I needed. And he gave me the answer. And so I remember talking to Jim, who was my first business partner, talking to Jim, running downstairs and Austin, just doing some quick math. And then I remember running right back upstairs and calling Jim and being like, Hey man, let's go do this. You know? But at that time I was still in law school. So I hadn't like fully committed law school. Oh yeah.
00:16:44
Speaker
I'm already over it. Like we don't need to be there anymore. We're beyond lawns. Yeah. Why are we still there? Why? Because I think every step along the journey, if I'm connecting the dots looking back or whatever this famous quote is, I wasn't fully there. I wasn't like, I can do this. You know what I mean? Have that doubt of like, am I smart enough? Am I capable? Can I make a few hundred dollars a week and survive? Yes. I know that. You know what I mean? But I hadn't fully committed to I am an entrepreneur and I will make this thing a success. Right.
00:17:12
Speaker
And so I was still in law school and it actually wasn't until 2018 that I fully quit law school and completely committed to share your genius and everything that
Scaling Business and Personal Alignment
00:17:23
Speaker
it could be. In my mind, I was like, I'm going to build share your genius as a way to make money while I'm in law school.
00:17:28
Speaker
And I'll see how I can apply my degree or whatever. But then all of the moments in my life that are real trigger events have to do with kids. And so I found out I was pregnant with my second daughter. And that was when I made the fork in the road moment of like, I can go to law school at night, run this business during the day. And then I will never see my daughters. So I am going to quit law school. So that is what.
00:17:50
Speaker
was the final catalyst of me going all in on Cherry Genius. Got it. It's so interesting because even though you had this intuition knowing you wanted to be an entrepreneur, you know, it still took you some time to identify with that as a label or as a role. And I just think that's good for people to hear because we get here in all different ways and all different paths. And even though you knew that you wanted to get there at some point, you still struggle to own that. And I think that's pretty normal for a lot of people. So I'm glad you shared that.
00:18:19
Speaker
Now you're now just starting full time. You've got two young little kids. I imagine you probably set the business up maybe intentionally to kind of be a lifestyle business. So how did you structure it in the beginning to kind of fit that role for your family? Yeah. And it's funny because this is where really Nicole enters the scene where we had a lot more conversations about this because I continued to struggle. This was like the narrative in my head was like, if it's a lifestyle business, it's not successful. If I'm not.
00:18:47
Speaker
growing it, if I'm not doing all of the things that everyone else is appearing to be doing, then I am not successful. And so again, like these talk tracks that hold you back from just pursuing what's right for you, I think is a constant issue. And I think women feel that the most because we have so many things that are telling us what we are and what we should be. Those things are usually male or, you know, ourselves, ourselves, our little extra voices.
00:19:14
Speaker
Yeah. It's like, where are they coming from? And it's funny because the male thing, it's like, I think about that a lot. And I'm like, the negative on the male was not my issue. Because my dad was always like, you can be and do whatever you want. And my husband has always been like, go be and do whatever you want. And I'm like, so where did this freaking come from? Because, you know,
00:19:33
Speaker
A lot of it is just seeing businesses run and not seeing a whole lot of women at the top. I think that's right. Cause I even think about that too, where I'm like, my mom was a stay at home mom for a little bit. She went back to work cause we needed her to, but her career was not her passion. It was not her ambition. It was like a means to an end. And so you didn't see that. I think that's right. Yeah. Yeah.
00:19:52
Speaker
So you didn't think, well, you didn't think that a lifestyle business meant it wasn't successful. And so did you find yourself at the very beginning structuring it in the way that quote unquote, you thought it should be structured? Yeah. So the way that I kind of started and grew the business is I wanted it to be done on my own terms. Um, and so it was very much like remote on purpose. And this was before remote was common before it was cool. It was like.
00:20:18
Speaker
You know, we would do fun things like me and my business partner. We went to Thailand one time for work, you know, we went to Mexico a couple of times for strategic planning. Like we embraced the ability to be nomadic, um, on purpose. And that was like something really special to us. The thing that I had to do that I was intentionally doing was I needed it to be lifestyle because at that point I was pregnant and, or having my second daughter, but my other daughter, who by the way is healthy and wonderful and she's seven now, but she was born without her lower left leg.
00:20:48
Speaker
And so we had a lot of appointments for her in physical therapy and just getting her fit with her first like prosthetics. And like, there was lots of things that were interruptions throughout my day.
Support Networks and Resilience
00:21:01
Speaker
And so that was very intentional in terms of like, that was my priority is making sure that my freedom was based on what I needed to do.
00:21:11
Speaker
As the company grew, there was opportunities to bring on more employees and we started to do that. So I grew the company and that's really where Nicole, I remember talking to you several times, but we grew the company to about seven people. And again, we're still like a six-figure company. We're doing fine. Nothing crazy. And I kind of had like a dark night of the soul moment where I was like,
00:21:32
Speaker
The company I'm building is not the company I want to build and the people that I have on this team are wonderful, but they're not part of where I want to take this company. And of course I find I'm pregnant with my third kid, but at that point I did make a decision and I said, I'm winding back the tape and I don't want to grow the company in the way that I'm feeling pressured to grow it. And it was nobody else's pressure, but my own. Of course. So we kind of had like a big riff, like everyone got let go. And that was at the beginning of 2020. Mm-hmm.
00:22:02
Speaker
Which is, I mean, wild timing. Wow. Wild timing. Did you feel a little bit grateful that you had done that before the world imploded?
00:22:13
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. It was like one of those other things. What a relief. But then like, I think even to the point of like, you know, women and us trusting our intuition, it's weird. It's like, do you do get a spidey sense about stuff? And it's like, just lean into it. Like trust it. Like you don't even, you don't always have to know what's going to happen, but just do it anyway. Yep.
00:22:34
Speaker
And I remember talking to you because that seemed like such a big pivot. And I know that you struggled with it as well. And I was probably insensitive and Cal is just like, burn it all down. But you know, that's a really big pivot. Like I think a lot of women end up feeling at various times trapped by their own businesses that they built. Right. Which was we were trying to get out of the cage of someone else's business and then we didn't realize we built this cage around our own business.
00:23:00
Speaker
And then we don't realize we have the lock and key to get out of it, right? And it doesn't mean you have to get out of business. It just means that that's no longer the way that serving you and you need to give yourself permission to do it a different way. Like I remember deciding not to grow my agency and it was so freeing to just be like, I love not having to care about this. I don't want to do it. I don't want to build it into something huge.
00:23:30
Speaker
That then takes up for my life again. That was what I was trying to avoid. So I love that part
Mindset and Overcoming Fear
00:23:35
Speaker
of your story. And as one of the reasons we really wanted to have you on is because you made such a big shift, but then the reverses you've kind of shifted into a third place with this company now. Right. So like when we checked back in years later, I was like, Hey, you still doing it this way? And you're like, Nope, doing it a different way.
00:23:54
Speaker
different way now. So like, what does it mean for your life now? Like you've shifted to a bit of a different structure. What's it look like now? Well, first I have to give you one more shout out because you, that was a very dark time in my life. And the reason it felt so heavy is because I had seven people that I felt so misunderstood. You know what I mean? And I felt so responsible and I mean, I was very emotional about it, not in front of them, obviously, but it was very heavy.
00:24:23
Speaker
Lo and behold, again, maybe I had some raging hormones going on too. But you sent me that post-it note and I'm pretty sure I still have that post-it note and it said, or it'll be fine. And you sent that in the mail and I remember just audibly like breathing. Like I remember like my shoulders felt like they relaxed a little bit because it was like,
00:24:44
Speaker
Yeah. Or it'll be fine. That is a thing that you should just do forever and ever. Like if anyone's listening to this and they hear somebody going through that, like, or it'll be fine. It was like messages that took me out of a really, and like, yeah, because it was like, you know, so it is heavy for that. Well, you know what? You were so cute. It was probably a year. Well, maybe even less than a year ago when you sent me a picture of that post of no back and you're like, I still have this. And it just like blew my mind who made me so happy inside. Yeah.
00:25:14
Speaker
But it feels less heavy, right? If you share with somebody, oftentimes that somebody has to be outside of your business.
00:25:21
Speaker
Right? Like ideally it's another woman in many cases who runs a business that understands why you feel so responsible and why it's hard to let people go and why it's just so heavy. Like a lot of people, you know, they can't maybe get that level of support from a spouse that doesn't understand entrepreneurship. Like it's not anyone's fault. It's just, it feels different.
00:25:46
Speaker
That's part of why I just love voice memos with Mallory. Like they just make my day because you just need someone that's your outlet for business stuff. And people who understand like, yeah, this is like your fourth kid. Like this is that level of responsibility and care and time and investment. And that's why decisions feel really hard.
00:26:07
Speaker
Or do we finally, or it'll be fine. You guys Nicole's mantra. We know she has the bracelet. We talked about this. Hey, I'm consistent.
00:26:19
Speaker
Yes, you are. Let's talk about this in a little different lens. So back in the beginning, we've talked about the self-doubt and the feeling, the lack of being smart. But in the beginning of entrepreneurship, and you may not have had these support people yet in this realm, how did fear play a part? Because there could have been a time where you were too scared and just said, no, never mind. I'll just continue law school, and then I'll become a lawyer, and that'll be financially secure.
Growth Through Personal Practices
00:26:48
Speaker
but your soul probably wasn't too happy. So was fear coming up for you and how did you overcome it to step into entrepreneurship? I think that the truth of it is fear for me was not stepping forward in the entrepreneurship, meaning like I was okay with not taking the normal path. I was more scared, honestly, of getting stuck in a office with golden handcuffs. I was more scared of that and they're feeling like,
00:27:17
Speaker
Yeah, and feeling like, oh, they're going to pay me a bunch, but I'm going to be at the office and never see my girls. You know what I mean? And that's what I was more scared of. I think the journey that I've gone on is I've been more afraid of my dreams. I've been more afraid of actually dreaming big and stating them out loud and that kind of thing because I've always done and started all these little things. You know what I mean? And making a claim of this business is going to achieve X, Y, and Z.
00:27:46
Speaker
was more scary to me and has been more scary to me than anything because then it's not just me. It's I've stated it out into the world and if I fail, people will know. Do you know what I mean? And so that's where fear and still plays a role sometimes. That's something I've actively been working on in the last 18 months.
00:28:02
Speaker
What are some of your mindset shifts that you've had to have around like, maybe I'm not smart enough. Maybe the stream is too big. Maybe I don't know what I'm doing. Maybe I'm unqualified. Like we all have our own soundtracks and you got to the first step, which most people don't get to, which is identifying what yours is and that it's not real, but it still feels very real. So like, what are some of the things that you've done to combat that bit of a mental loop that we can get into?
00:28:29
Speaker
The mental loop was very real for me in 2020. Like I was like in that circle, right? And 2020 something really interesting happened. So I let go for the whole world, but for the business specifically, you know, I let go of my whole team. I wanted to go back to it just being me in this lifestyle business. But because the world shut down, all of a sudden more opportunities opened up.
00:28:50
Speaker
because people were looking for new ways to connect. They were looking for ways to leverage their marketing budget that was spent on events, you know what I mean? Then all they couldn't do. And so all of a sudden the business started growing again, but it was growing in a way that I felt like I had more control over because it was like my process. I was doing it on my own. I was, you know what I mean? Like all those things that I was like, I'm not doing it the way I did.
00:29:12
Speaker
Um, and I was home, you know what I mean? And it was like, I could see my kids more and like all those, all those things in 2020 though, that started to happen. I found myself in a mental loop and Jim, my business partner, he said, he was like, you need to do some mindset coaching. And I was like,
00:29:29
Speaker
Okay, I will do that. And so I actually did mindset coaching with a company called Dreamfuel. Okay. And they taught me some really good practices and the things I do today.
Balancing Business Structure with Life Goals
00:29:40
Speaker
So one of the things I do a lot is gratitude, like journaling, you know, I do a lot of visualization and I was doing visualization before I knew it was a thing.
00:29:49
Speaker
Um, so I do that a lot. Those are the primary things that I do. But the other thing I will say that I do now that I did not do then is like, I consistently like work out. Um, and it's a forcing function for me to walk away from my business. Just like think and be in my body as opposed to in my head. Oh, Mallory, what do you think about that?
00:30:11
Speaker
Well, I love that. And it just popped up for me when you said that of how challenging it was for me when I couldn't physically move my body like a little bit ago for like seven or eight months. And I remember telling Nicole, it's like, oh, it's good for my body. I know my body needs it. But that's not what I'm missing. I'm missing that. I'm doing this hard thing. And in that moment, I'm completely out of my head. I'm in this flow state. I'm not thinking and spiraling.
00:30:38
Speaker
And I had no outlet because I couldn't increase my heart rate enough not doing the things that, well, that everything was causing pain. So that resonates and I'm glad. And I am, I know everybody's very concerned. I am back to being able to move somewhat. It's not the same, but I'm getting there. And so I love that you use that as a practice.
00:30:57
Speaker
And I love the phrase just, you know, go be in your body and not just in your mind. Like that's something I actually told a friend probably two days ago was that that's what I feel like one of my horses right now does for me. Like it's the only part of the day, which I am not in my mind. Like that's the one hour where it's like to not die during this process, I need a hundred percent of your brain. And it's like so lovely. Like it just makes me so happy to get a vacation from my mind.
00:31:26
Speaker
And I'm like, that's what this is for me. So you're both probably doing lovely, traditional, fitness-y things with machines that I don't know how to work. But my version is like, don't die on this horse right now. That takes a lot of thought.
00:31:43
Speaker
That's where I am. I think that's a good point, though, with my version. I think the point is, what is the version of getting yourself out of your head? Because in order for me to tap into where I want to go, that's what I've had to do. And it was through visualization and through that quiet time and reflection and stuff, it's like, stop telling yourself why it's not possible. Right. And just say, that's what you want. And that's OK. And just try and make that happen. Yes.
00:32:08
Speaker
Well, where are you now? So that was 2020. We're three years, almost four years post. Tell us about the latest transition or pivot or where is the company now in terms of space and team and leadership. And how does it feel? Does it feel like you have the type of business that you want now?
00:32:27
Speaker
Yeah. Yes. So it feels really good. Like I feel really happy about where we are and where we're headed. Um, in 2021, I ended up taking on a client who actually has come in since as my new business partner. And the reason why I made that decision was actually really in line with what we were talking about earlier, where she has four children. She's married. She's very successful in the services space and.
00:32:56
Speaker
When she and I connected, it felt like she was reading a diary that I wrote that I never did. Do you know what I mean? She was saying all these things and I was like, yes, that's me. That's where I'm at. That's how I feel. And she articulated things that, again, I never knew how to. And so we had this conversation. She's like, what if I came in as your business partner?
00:33:15
Speaker
That was the last sort of pivotal moment in the company. And of course I had just had my third kid and that's where I was at. As I was at this fork of the road moment again, COVID was going on. I had my third baby. The business was growing. Nobody could watch my kids and my husband stepped to the plate and he said, I will quit my job.
00:33:33
Speaker
And for a few until the world changes a little bit so that you can focus on growing this company. Tiffany, my now business partner came to the table and that to me was like, now I'm going to grow this thing and believe in what I believe and actually trust myself and my intuition and blah, blah. Or I'm not. Or I'm just not because this is my third kid and it's hard.
00:33:55
Speaker
And so my husband, again, kind of helped me and like gave me an opportunity to do it. And, and so that's what I did. So now we are, that was like, when all of that finalized and finished, that was more like 2021. Um, since then we've finally hit like our first million or, um, on pace for doubling pretty much every year. And that's what we're trying to do. And, but I'm trying to do it in a way that doesn't mean doubling people. And like, I want to keep it very people focused. And so that's where we're at, you know, we're growing and things are good.
00:34:25
Speaker
Well, and I think what you've done that time is get a different type of support than you had the first time, right? You had more support with the kids in the way that you needed, which was, I know, and I'm married to the person I'm leading these kids with. That's okay. And here's this business partner that seems to be able to read my mind in a not creepy, but delightful way.
00:34:49
Speaker
and knows probably that she probably wants to grow it the same way that you do and probably gives you a bit of a gut check for both of you, right? To say like, is this how we want to do it? Are we still liking this? Is this what we want to do? Does this work for our lives? So I'm curious about some of those. I mean, that's a lot of pivots, right? Yeah. I love that. Yeah. Because you are in control of your own cage. You can get out there anytime you want to.
00:35:16
Speaker
But how did kind of connecting
Inspiring Future Generations
00:35:19
Speaker
back to that why of like having that freedom and control and being able to have your family, how did that factor into those really dark, hard moments or hard choices?
00:35:31
Speaker
And one specifically that I remember, and I don't know if you want to speak to this, but there was another podcast company that started in our same area around that time. And I thought, oh no, I was worried for you because I am a scarcity mindset person. And I was like, what if there aren't enough podcasts?
00:35:54
Speaker
How do we get her more podcasts? So you may not have been worried about that at all. I don't know. No, I was worried about it. Okay. Yeah, I was worried about it. It's not even my business. How over the years and all, like the ups and downs, the big ones, the little ones has reconnecting to like, I need to do this my way. Like this business has to look like what I want.
00:36:19
Speaker
regardless of what anyone else is doing. Like how do you keep coming back to that? Why? So many things. One is I think you get sort of confidence in two ways. Your parents either give it to you a ton, right? And you just like live your life knowing you're amazing. Or the market tells you that you're great.
00:36:36
Speaker
Um, and that sort of stood like build up that confidence in you. And I think the thing that happened for me is when Tiffany came in and said, Hey, I want to partner with you. And she does not play an active role in the business. She is more of like an advisor board member type deal, you know, which the reason I say that is because she was betting on me. Sure. And she was like, I'm betting on you. And she gave me confidence that.
00:37:00
Speaker
There might be other companies that pop up. There might be other issues that I can't foresee, but she'd already weathered so many storms herself with her own business. And she cared about me growing it in a way that felt sustainable and not something that was this high growth machine that all of a sudden you're in a cage again. And those things were such proof points for me that I was like, okay, she believes in me. She has children that she's present for. I can do this. Why can't I do this?
00:37:28
Speaker
And then the third thing that I kind of started to lean into more is I was like, man, I've got three little kids, two daughters and a son. And my daughter is born without her lower left leg. And I was like, if I'm going to sit here and not pursue the dreams that I have, and she's going to watch me not do that.
00:37:48
Speaker
When she has adversity from day one, what kind of example am I setting? Instead, what if I was like, no, I am who I am. I'm your mom, but I'm also myself first. And I'm doing these things because that's where I feel called and led to. And this is where my gifts are.
00:38:05
Speaker
I wanted her to see that. Like that was like very real for me. And I was like, I need my daughters and I need my son to see a woman that is successful, that is at the top of her field and the top of her company.
Leadership with Vulnerability and Values
00:38:16
Speaker
Like to your point earlier, like you cannot be what you cannot see. And so for me, it was like, I see somebody who is the epitome of what I'm trying to achieve, which is my business partner. And now I need to become what I want my children to see as possible for them.
00:38:32
Speaker
You are speaking directly into my heart right now. You may not know, but you're modeling not martyring, which as a mom, I'm just, I, I think the more women doing that makes the community around them that much better, which makes the community around that community that much better. And like, ultimately it can have this positive ripple effect in the world. So I want to thank you because it's not always the easiest way.
00:38:56
Speaker
And I also want to point out that it's not always the easiest way, like I just said, because you've demonstrated that by sharing this with us. And you said your new business partner has had her ups and downs. So when we're looking at women who are successful or how we deem is our measurement of success.
00:39:15
Speaker
There's this whole story behind them and there are pivots and there are downtimes and there are struggles. And so I just want to speak to all anybody listening who's maybe in that lull right now to see you did the work and you got to this place where you're really happy with where things are and it's possible.
00:39:34
Speaker
And the only way we were able to do that is by you being vulnerable. So thank you, because I think that deep connection we can have with people really comes from that vulnerability. And for you, do you think of that vulnerability aspect running your company at all? Is it a part of your conversations? Is it a part of your decision-making? So I don't know if it's part of my decision-making and I will say I have been vulnerable accidentally.
00:40:01
Speaker
if that makes sense. Like, it's just kind of who I am, where I'm just like, because I have a sense of confidence in who I am, like, just intrinsically, and I think that's where I'm talking about, like, I think that came from my upbringing and things like that. Again, I have my moments, I've shared those moments with you, but like, what is the point in me not telling you what I feel? What is the point in me not telling you my experience? You know what I mean? Like, I guess it's like hard for me to say go be vulnerable, because it's almost just like, just be yourself.
00:40:31
Speaker
Yeah, just be who you are and like there's people who won't like it and people who will but like the people who will are the ones that you care about anyway You know what I mean? And so and I have a lot of females on my team, you know, there's 10 of us total eight of them are women um, some of them have families some of them are young and it's like again, it's modeling what you want what I want my daughters to see it's modeling what I want business to be about and it is about connection and humanity and
00:40:57
Speaker
You know, you got to make money, but she can do it in a way that helps other people, you know, like, so I guess that's kind of a long winded answer, but it's just like, if anyone is sort of stuck in that phase of like, should I, shouldn't I, you should like, just say, please do.
00:41:13
Speaker
Yeah. And I think, you know, for especially some of those self-doubts that we have around, am I smart enough? Am I qualified enough? The answer is always going to be like, no, we're not technically qualified enough. I guess I don't know a hundred percent of the things, of course. Like being able to speak to someone else that's like, yeah, dude, I don't feel qualified at all. Like I'm on these client calls. Like, what am I doing here? I just took this project and I don't know.
00:41:41
Speaker
But like having someone that you can talk to and just be like, yeah, totally. No idea what's happening over here either. Like that's okay. That's how we're doing this. Dude, this is the thing that blows my mind. And this speaks to the vulnerability thing. If it's like, if you don't tell people what you're struggling with.
00:41:58
Speaker
they cannot help you. And I'm like, I will even tell my clients. Like I'll do it in a way that's professional obviously, but like they have the answers and they will give them to you if you just ask. And I'm like, that's the thing that I'm like constantly like, that's something I've like my daughter again, going back to her, she's seven years old. And I'm like, we've had situations where I'm like, I cannot advocate for you.
00:42:20
Speaker
If you need something, you have to say it. Yes. And like, I think that's maybe if we're pulling the thread of women and where we've maybe stumbled historically is it's like all you have to do is advocate for yourself and it can be in the form of a question. Yes. And that's what I would recommend. Yes. So good.
00:42:43
Speaker
Sorry, I'm writing too many notes. I'm going to put these all on post-its and then just stick them to my forehead. It's fine. Everything's fine, you guys. Yes. The vulnerability piece though, I do think is huge. I think there's never been a time when I didn't share like a hard struggle and then feel immediately better.
00:43:04
Speaker
Right. And that's also what I think your friends, your colleagues, everybody wants from you because it then gives them permission to do that. Right. It's like you said, it's modeling that. And when you say, listen, tough day. All right. Here's what's going on. I'm not dying here, but like, it's not great.
00:43:22
Speaker
And then the next time they have that day, they're like, I bet Rachel is going to be okay if I tell her that I'm on the struggle yesterday. Like that's just the permission that they need. Like let's stop all thinking that we're fine all the time. Well, and my point on that from a company perspective, cause there is a line where things can get out of balance, right? And like, you have to know like who it's appropriate to say things to and who it's not. Like obviously, but the thing I always anchor back on is core values. And I'm like, if we hired to core values,
00:43:51
Speaker
then I'm never questioning their intent. You know what I'm saying? And I know that they're going to do what's best for the company and doing what's best for themselves is also usually what's best for the company. Um, and so that's one of the things where I'm like, I do want to keep us small. You know what I mean? I do want to keep us connected because then we can keep that. And who knows? You guys talked to me in three years. We'll see where we're at, but right now that's where I'm at. You know? Yeah.
00:44:18
Speaker
Well, we just had a phrase back at my old job that was assumed goodwill. And that is so hard sometimes. But also, like you said, if you hire those people and you put the right people supporting you, then yeah. Like Mallory will never do anything as a member of my business that I'm like, oh, she's trying to hurt. Like, come on. That's not who I hired at all. What? Yeah. Like, I don't even have to worry about it.
00:44:48
Speaker
It's right. It's because you're getting the right people in, but I think that just modeling it, we've kind of set it, but it's almost like we haven't set the word inspiration. It's almost like you're inspiring people to tap in and be more human and be more full or their whole selves by demonstrating that or by sharing those pieces with you or with them, you know, showing them your human side.
Future Opportunities and Inclusivity Projects
00:45:14
Speaker
I think it's a great way to run a company. Let's all do that. Me too. So what are some of these pieces that, you know, Mallory said the word inspired and you have to still be fulfilled by this business to keep going. Like it's too hard to run a business if you don't like a lot of it, even if it makes you money, right? Like there's a bunch of stuff that can make you money.
00:45:38
Speaker
But what are some of the things now, like you're a mom with three kids, very busy, running a business. Like what are the things about this business currently that work for your life? Well, I mean, from a tactical perspective, like it is remote. One of the things that I love about being remote is, and this has been since day one, I have never lost this.
00:46:01
Speaker
I want to be remote because I like freedom and flexibility and my husband and I love, we love to travel too. And so it's like, I love that we can take our family and we can go places and I can still be productive and impactful with the business if need be. So I love that. You know, we recently relocated to the Atlanta area and I can go back to Indy and I don't miss a beat. You know what I mean? Like I can, like, my life can work for me because of the way that we've intentionally structured the company.
00:46:26
Speaker
and continued to keep that. So that's awesome. And then the other thing that I think has just been really almost lucky, like I don't know how else to say it, is like we got into podcasting specifically because I'd never seen a channel work as effectively, right? But we're having this moment in marketing where it's like media-led growth, media-led strategy is the way of driving human connection between brands and people.
00:46:52
Speaker
And I think finally the marketplace is seeing the opportunity there. And from a company perspective, I feel like we're primed to be able to like help shepherd those brands into that space. You know, for us, our tagline is it's never just a podcast.
00:47:07
Speaker
Because it's not, it's not. And so as I think about the growth of the company and the opportunity, for me, that just means if it's never just a podcast, what else could it be? And so for us, that looks like additional shows. It looks like video. It looks like full fledged film. It looks like, you know, social media. I mean, it looks like a million things. And so as a company, I'm really excited about growing our team into more media strategists and being part of the future of what marketing is, is and is going to become.
00:47:37
Speaker
Love that. Okay. So this far in to full-time entrepreneurship. Yes. I'm not going to actually say what's the most rewarding. We've hit on a lot of those things, but what are you most proud of? I think I'm proud of not quitting.
00:47:53
Speaker
Hmm. Yes. Cause that's the easier way sometimes, isn't it? It seems like it. It's the easy, it seems like the easiest, but also like in Nicole, I don't know if you experienced this, but because I'm somebody who likes my hands in a lot of different things.
00:48:09
Speaker
I'll dip my toe in and move on, you know what I mean? And like, and part of it is because I get excited about something, but then I get bored, you know? And so I think that's the thing I'm probably most proud of is like, I've decided to commit, you know what I mean? And I'm sticking it out and. You're marrying this business. You're getting, you're putting a ring on it. You're like, we're doing this, share your genius. I love you. Yes.
00:48:35
Speaker
Well, an interesting point is that like, it does often feel like, at least for me, like I'd love to quit a whole bunch of stuff. Right. But it's really just about finding a new way to do this stuff that I'm doing that will make me not want to quit. Right. It may just be that I'm tired of doing the pieces that I've been doing for a long time.
00:48:56
Speaker
Maybe it's time to delegate those or maybe I'm not really into that particular program or service anymore. That's fine. You know, like it doesn't necessarily mean that it has to be, I'm done with this business. It just means maybe this is time for one of those pivots.
00:49:13
Speaker
where I do this business a little differently or the things that I'm working on are different. Like the joy of not being in a cage of someone else's is that you can do that. You can do it today. You can do it tomorrow. You can do it whenever you feel like you want to quit the way you're doing it now. And that's just like people feel so trapped. I do it too.
00:49:34
Speaker
But you're not trapped, like that's an illusion. It's an illusion. Totally. So. Yeah. I'm super curious if, cause we just recorded about human design. Have you ever done your chart reading, Rachel? No. I'm feeling like we need to get her in on this because I feel like she's going to be a manifesting generator like Nicole. I know. That's what I was thinking in the beginning. I was like, oh, she's a managing.
00:49:58
Speaker
Yeah, so you should go back and listen to Ashley's episode on human design because it'd be curious and then send us your reading. Yes, please send us your thoughts. Yeah, I would love to do that. That would be fun. Yeah, I would love that. So kind of wrapping things up for today, I'm curious, you know, like we've just said, we get a little bored. We get a little bored.
00:50:20
Speaker
And even though you've decided to marry this business and congratulations, if you had to go back in time and start a completely different business, nothing related to podcasts, what would you do or nonprofit doesn't have to be, you know, whatever, just starting your own thing. What else would be a thing that kind of lights you up?
00:50:42
Speaker
Honestly, it would have to have something to do with Linen and her, I don't even know what they call it, limb deficiency. You know, I've had lots of ideas around developing content for that, for her. That's probably what I would do. And I might still do it, to be honest. It's just not yet, but I'd like to help with not even like awareness, because that's, I don't care so much about that, but more like,
00:51:08
Speaker
helping people like her understand how perfectly whole they are. And so like making sure that those stories are told in a way that shows that and like even like helping educate families that see people like that and how not to act, you know, and it's not something to sympathize on. You know what I mean? It's, you know what I mean? And so that's something that I feel pretty passionate about.
00:51:34
Speaker
Yep. I imagine that will pop up in your life when the time is right, when the time is right, when she wants to go found something with you. Wouldn't that be great? What if you're raising a little entrepreneur right now? I hope so. Rachel, it has been such a gift to have you on here today. Thank you for being open and sharing everything with us and our audience. We've so appreciated having you here.
00:52:01
Speaker
Thank you both. This has been really fun. Thank you so much. We'll see everybody on the next episode. Thanks for listening. Hop over to UnboundBoss.com to join our community and leave us a voice memo. We absolutely love hearing from you. If you like the podcast, please subscribe, leave us an Apple review, and share your favorite episodes with other women entrepreneurs. Talk to you soon.