EP 355: The Risks and Rewards of the Business Journey

[00:00:03] Deborah, with her 30 years of being an entrepreneur and creating over seven companies, knows exactly what it means to accept the mission. When you make that decision, when you accept the mission to become a solopreneur, to take yourself and your talents to market, then you embrace a life of not only unlimited possibilities, but also the unknown. It's an elixir of fear and bravery that only someone who's taken the leap really understands.

[00:00:28] On our show, Deb digs deep with her guests to highlight what you, the listener, wants to know. The stories, the whys and the hows to navigate the journey to success. Get ready to hear from some of the most incredible mission takers from Generation Z to boomers. So sit up, perk up and get ready to be blown away. Now here is your host, Deborah Drummond.

[00:01:14] Welcome back to yet another mission accepted rock star. I'm going to say rock star and you're like, it's called mission accepted rock star. I'm like, have you checked out who's in the room? Absolutely. This is a rock star. This is a rock star group panel. And look at we are going to talk about how these incredible entrepreneurs went from there to here, here to there. We were having a little bit of that controversial conversation free show. But it is about how we go from one place to another. Right.

[00:01:42] It is incredible what happens in the world of entrepreneurship. And even what's more special is what one person's flip over is another person's small step. We don't know that thing that is going to take you from there to here or here to there. But what happens is it's an internal and external journey. And I am very excited about introducing you to a group of people that have done exactly that.

[00:02:08] And I'm not going to be too far stretched to say that they're not finished yet, that they're still going to be going from where they are now to where they are in the future. And I can't wait to get these incredible people back a year from now. And we're going to be able to talk about exactly what happened in this next year. And oh, my goodness. If you look back into your life in the last year, what happened with your business? You might not be excited about it or you might be over the moon about it, but it was a journey that is going to take you to that next step.

[00:02:37] So I can't wait for all of you to come back next year. And let's talk about that. So look at I'm going to let these incredible people introduce themselves because they come from a variety, a real variety of different things that they do from an entrepreneurial standpoint. And so I'm going to start with you, Joanne, if you can introduce yourself and just say how long you've been doing this entrepreneurial thing. Yeah, so my name is Joanne Callaghan. I'm globally known as the sleep success coach.

[00:03:03] And I've been doing this entrepreneurial thing for more years than I can count, actually, Deb. So 15 years plus. And I just love it. I just I absolutely love it. I'm an international number one bestselling author. As you know, 262 Mission Accepted in my own book. And I have created the sleep success system. So as a sleep coach, this is the methodology that I use. And I absolutely love it. It took years and years to develop. But that's where I am right now. And yeah, and I'm so thrilled to be part of the 262 Women's Project as well.

[00:03:33] And just back from the Oscars where we're going to talk all about that. So that's me, Joanne Callaghan. Fantastic. Thank you so much for joining in. Annette. Hi, everyone. I'm Annette Perry. I've been an entrepreneur now in my business for going on 11 years, been in the industry for 21. And I'm an inner child expert, the founder of Training Camp for the Soul. And I train coaches, healers, health practitioners and leaders in how to work at the level of the nervous system and the subconscious.

[00:04:02] They can create real lasting transformation with their clients. Look at this. We just got started. It's so powerful. I can feel the energy going on. And Carmel. Carmen, sorry. Carmel's hanging out in the background. I'm just like, my name is Carmen DeValas and I'm an artist and photography is my favorite medium and speaker and author.

[00:04:29] And so photography, I am really into nature, big into nature and I think in presence. And I love portraiture as well. Oh, my God. I should have to check out her stuff. I am in love with the horses and Saline. So I'm Saline and I am a scale and system strategist for women business owners because I've been in business almost 19 years this year.

[00:04:53] And my first business was a senior home care that I hit a million in the first three years, but unfortunately required 80 hour weeks to maintain. Turn that around and turned it into a well-oiled money making machine. And now what I help women do that on service based businesses is increase their revenue and decrease their owner dependency so you can live your one epic life. Wow, I love that owner dependency. There's a I haven't heard that one yet. That's fantastic.

[00:05:23] And Ocean, you're right in the middle of my screen, right in the middle of all these goddesses. Please introduce yourself and tell us what you do. Yes, I'm Ocean Baker. And what my business is, I'm into streetwear, art and fashion. So I fuse all those three together. And I've been doing entrepreneurship since I was 15. So seven years, I'm 22 now. And in the beginning, it was all about, you know, this is my passion.

[00:05:52] And this is what I really wanted to do in the life. And I was really into clothes and streetwear and collecting sneakers. And it just really hit me one day. I really want to have something on my own one day. And it's just, we've done so much. And so, I guess, little time, I guess, compared to other places. But yeah, there's so much. And I guess we'll be talking about that today. And it's crazy. And what's the name of your company? It's called Natakashi. Oh, very cool.

[00:06:22] All right. And my fellow friend that loves organizing. Nicola. Thank you. I'm Nicola Bates from West Coast Streaming. I am a clarity architect. And I help small business owners bring their brands to life and streamline their systems. I think of it simply as I make things pretty and organized so that it actually works. I've been an entrepreneur for about two years.

[00:06:50] And I've always created a structure that looks beautiful. And so, this is what I've merged. And here I am. All right. Well, thank you for joining us. Oh, my goodness. And Mandy, please tell us. Introduce yourself. And how long have you been in business? Hi. Well, my name's Mandy Horton. I have been an entrepreneur for seven years across two beauty brands. And I'm the founder of my current business, Sea Dragon Organic, where I've taken, I guess,

[00:07:21] simplified routines, but I've used complex formulating. So, you only need two products in the morning, two at night, but everything you want for your skin is in those products. And I've used beautiful marine actives. And it's all made in Australia, kept in Australia, shipped in Australia globally. And I'm really excited to be here. Oh, my goodness. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for joining us. And, Mary, please introduce yourself. Tell us all about you. Hello, everyone.

[00:07:51] Thank you for having me, Jeb. I'm Mary Gall, owner of Success Magnified. And I call myself an idea igniter. So, I work with women who have lots of ideas about what they want to do in their head, spinning around, keeping them up at night. And I help them extract those ideas and put them into an organized action plan and then help with accountability and focus so that they can actually achieve their goals and not get distracted by all the shiny squirrels that are out there. So, that's what I get to do.

[00:08:18] I've been an entrepreneur now for 13 years and running this coaching business for 11 years. Oh, my goodness. What a variety. You know what? The one thing that I love about the world of entrepreneurship right now is that there's so many, I won't say niches, but pockets. I'm genius. That people are actually circulating really incredible businesses around that one thing. It's just spectacular. All right. So, let's talk a little bit about these incredible businesses.

[00:08:46] And, Joanne, we're going to go back to you. So, in the beginning, you know, being in business for yourself, what was it that inspired you to start?

[00:09:24] I bought my own house. So, I had a lot of financial challenges and burdens and all the rest. But I remember when I was 27 years of age, I said to myself, do you know what? There has to be a different way because every day I was coming into work exhausted. I experienced burnout. I was in hospital, all the things. And so, I eventually handed in my notice, knowing that there was something bigger and better out there, but I didn't know what or how or anything else. And that was when I started down the entrepreneurial route.

[00:09:51] I did everything wrong, everything wrong starting off. And when I met my mentor, I had trained in massage therapy and reflexology and all of the self-care things because I wanted to look after myself, start looking after myself. He said to me, do you want to write a book? That's what's going to raise your credibility. And I hadn't got it through. I taught many famous people who wrote books, right? So, I wrote it on sleep because all my massage clients were tired. And it was when I wrote it on sleep, that was when everything just blew up.

[00:10:21] So, that's what inspired me to start as an entrepreneur and my mentor inspired me to continue with my book and help me elevate and succeed in business. It was the start of succeeding. Wow. And that book has been around the world a number of times, I know. And now, what about for yourself? Well, I started my self-development journey about 21 years ago because I was seeking to know myself.

[00:10:47] And eight years in, I had done so much work, mindset work, subconscious work, NLP work, all these things. I had so much awareness of my patterns, but yet my life was still a mess. I still was anxious all the time, couldn't spend time by myself, struggling in relationships, struggling to make money in careers, all of it. And I was like, why? What's going on? I have all this awareness.

[00:11:15] And so, it wasn't until I met my mentor and discovered the deeper work, the inner child work, the somatic work, the nervous system work, that I experienced what real transformation is. And that inner peace and freedom that I was seeking all that time and finally got to experience, I just wanted that for other people.

[00:11:37] So, when I started out, it was really about just supporting others in getting that inner freedom in a method that actually worked. And then, you know, a year into it, clients saying to me, I want to learn to do what you do. And then five years later saying, okay, I'll start training people in this. So, that's how it evolved. Wow. Incredible. Okay. And up to you, Kerman. What about yourself? The inspiration, what made you decide to start? And was there anyone around that supported that star?

[00:12:07] Yes. So, about 10 years ago, I was a nurse practitioner, I'm a nurse over 40 years. And I'm in the clinic that I kept thinking, there's got to be something more. You know, there's got to be something more as much as I loved what I did. And one day I'm sitting and I'm, and I worked with people with dementia, Alzheimer's. So, I didn't have, you know, like, I couldn't offer a cure. I couldn't fix things other than be present and listen. And I just kept thinking, somebody needs to tell these stories, what people do and the

[00:12:37] resilience was amazing. And one day it was like an epiphany is like, you need to tell those stories. You need to tell those stories. And I couldn't imagine doing it without photos. And now I've never taken a photography class. I'll be real. 10 years ago, I, not one. I always had my camera, but I, I had never taken any classes to learn the fine tuning. And, and that began my journey.

[00:13:03] And I wrote that book and I, I told those stories and it is just evolved to becoming the storyteller, whether it's in nature or in portraits and, uh, humanitarian, I do humanitarian project every year and had a nonprofit things I could never have dreamed of. And, um, and I, and I think that's where, you know, we have dreams and then we have callings. And that was a calling to me that I didn't hear until that day.

[00:13:32] Wow. This bumps. All right. Sailing. Sailing. Sailing. Sailing. Sailing. Sailing in the ocean. So after graduating college, I had five jobs in seven years due to a short term contract and two layoffs. So desperate to reclaim control over my time and money and freedom. Uh, one warm, sunny Sunday in August, 2006, I was sitting on my boyfriend's boat and the girl next to me said, what do you want to do?

[00:14:01] And out of my mouth said, start my own business. I think she meant for like dinner or drinks later, but that's what came out. And ironically, the next morning dragged myself into my nine to five Monday morning. And there was an email in my inbox that said, have you ever thought of starting your own business? And I was like, it's meant to be. And so that was actually a franchise consulting company. And so I looked at everything from closets to dog training to smoothie shops to sub shops.

[00:14:30] And the universe sent me a another signal. I had met a woman who was looking to get in with the business I was working for. It was a franchise. And I signed on the line the last day of 2006 and started that journey. And the reason I knew that entrepreneurship was really for me is because my boyfriend had a family business and I saw him with the time and the money and the freedom and the flexibility.

[00:14:59] And I was like, the only way I know right now how to get that is by becoming an entrepreneur. And so everything lined up and I spent 10 years in that business generated over 17 million. And now I'm teaching other women how to do the same thing. So, yeah. Very cool. Very cool. I mean, isn't it isn't it so very what about for you? Oh, shit. In the beginning, what was it about being in business for your own self?

[00:15:28] And was there anyone or anything that helped? Yeah, when I first started, I mean, it was always a dream of mine since I was a kid to have my own clothing brand. And especially like having the unique of my artwork as well. That was always something that really motivated me to keep going. And I also like like the like sneakers and I want to tell those like sneaker cons and all those conventions was it, which was super fun.

[00:15:56] But it really made me really want to have my own business. So then, you know, we waited a couple of years and I still really had that desire to do it. And then from there, we just kind of made like steps and little steps and what to do next to, you know, kind of start.

[00:16:13] And then from 15 and 19, we worked on that for like on everything with clothing, like how to make it, going to new places like LA to learn how to make it and coming back here and to actually like making my first line and doing the first launch at 19 and dating boots. And that was, that was really cool, like to see that progress.

[00:16:36] And then from there to now, like the big jump, the jumps that we've taken was really surreal and it's really inspiring. Very cool. Very cool. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. I'm loving this. Nicola, tell us about you, girl. How did it start? What's going on? Of course. Thank you. I got really inspired and I saw some similarities of the stories that I've heard here. So that's so amazing.

[00:17:02] I, for me, the desire to build my own business started really small and that was a graphic designer and I was an administrator and a communicator. But all of a sudden, like I had this desire to start over the blog and West Coast Streaming, I wanted to inspire others to follow their dreams. And I kind of knew I had to lead. And eventually one morning in my job that I liked very much, I woke up and I was done.

[00:17:31] I looked at my emails in the morning before getting out of bed and I had the feeling I was done. And so I quit. But along the way, I met people who helped me get exactly to that moment. And one was a very special person. I went to one of my very first networking events and we clicked instantly. And from there on, I kind of felt drawn to her and I would always ask her all these questions.

[00:17:57] And she invited me. She was very generous with her time and advice. And so she opened doors for me and she invited me to other networking events. So step after spadey step, I was able to get there and I was able to practice things. And so I'm super grateful. And yeah, whether it was my journey idea and having a burnout and then getting back to it or creating a planner,

[00:18:25] going back to my graphic designer rules, everything came together in a way that I now really stepping into this clarity architect where I'm not either a designer or an administrator or a communicator. I'm fusing all of this together. And so, yeah, that's where I'm at. And you see that more and more, right? I mean, we went from the word of entrepreneur to entrepreneur. People say, what's an entrepreneur? Like it's an entrepreneur that can't say no.

[00:18:51] No, but it's really right. But we're seeing people fuse their passion and multi passions. And it's, you know, we're no longer with the days of had one thing, focus on one thing. And it's only one thing you get to bring yourself and all the crazy parts of ourselves to the table. Mandy, what about for you? What was the inspiration that kicked off your business? Was there anyone or anything that helped you? Yeah. Well, initially I started my first business because I was looking for,

[00:19:20] I guess, a job that I loved, but also fitted around family. I found myself in a state where I had no family around. My mom wasn't there. My mother-in-law, they were both interstate. I had little kids and it was just really hard to work and balance all of the family things. You know, when they were sick, I was the one that was always called and I did not have a very sympathetic boss. So I created my first business with my cousin really to have flexibility.

[00:19:49] And she was in the beauty industry. So we had a beauty business. And it wasn't long before, I guess, my creative side took over and I started to make really simple skincare products. And it was through that that I met Peter, who was an incredible chemist. So without having those skills myself, we needed to employ chemists and contract manufacturers to make products. So I would come up with a great idea.

[00:20:16] And then I needed to pay someone to come up with the formula or the recipe and then someone else to make it. But Peter was just so passionate about organics. And he taught me about green chemistry and how through the processing of these plant ingredients, you can end up with ingredients that have a much higher concentration of all of the good properties that you want.

[00:20:39] And I guess his enthusiasm was infectious and really encouraged me to go back to study. So that's what I did. I went back to study to become a cosmetic chemist myself. Oh, wow. That's inspiring. Oh, my goodness. I love all these stories. And Mary, what about you? Inspiration. How'd this party start? Yes, yes. I had been working, running a law firm, doing everything but practice law and outgrown that position and had friends say,

[00:21:09] well, you should start your own business. And I was like, what would I even do? I had no clue. Right. And I started just asking. I wonder. I wonder what that would look like. And I was volunteering at my daughter's middle school book fair. And there was a book there about how to start a virtual assistant business of all the random places. And I was like, oh, that sounds interesting. So I read the book, bought the book, started my virtual assistant company. And within about a year, I had gotten to capacity because I had come from corporate world.

[00:21:36] So I created a job for myself instead of a business, as many of us do. Right. And I was stuck. And so I was like, who do I need to meet that's going to help me figure this out, get past myself in this business so I can keep growing it. And I hired a business, met a business coach, hired him. And within about a year, I had retooled my whole business, loved the coaching aspect so much. And he's like, you know, you are showing up as a coach for your clients.

[00:22:04] You're calling up virtual assistants, but you're really giving them strategy. You're giving them all of these other pieces. You should consider being a coach. And I was like, really? So did that, got certified to be a coach and started Success Magnified 11 years ago. And so now I get to be a success coach for other coaches that are coming through that program. And I absolutely just love it. And being able to have my fingers in everybody's little business, right, is so much fun.

[00:22:31] But really that knowing when to seek help and then paying attention to where it shows up, you know, whether it's a book fair or whether it's a person that shows up at a networking group that can change your whole life. It's just always amazing to have that one connection. Well, and I think that's what we're hearing. And if anyone's listening, there are listeners that are listening that are going, I wonder how it's going to happen for me. You know, what you can hear is that sometimes it happens before you. Sometimes it's waiting for you. Sometimes the inspiration will take you.

[00:23:00] And sometimes it's like going into your office. And the first email that pops up is start your own business. That just accidentally came out while you're hanging out on a boat. I mean, sometimes it shows up for you. It's incredible. Okay. So, Joanne, I want to go back to you and ask, like, you know, when you first start your business, it can be scary or nerve wracking or fee-for-all. But mostly there's this sense of enthusiasm. It might describe itself as anxiety or what have you.

[00:23:27] But there's this whole newness that happens when you start a business and what are the designs of the cards going to be and building a website and all of that. When that stuff starts to settle a little bit and you realize that you actually have a business and it might be beyond the skills or the abilities that you have. What was that like for you? And how did you navigate that? Because and how did you overcome that to the business that you have now? Like, take us from there to what you have now and where you've landed.

[00:23:56] Because that's, you know, when the shiny penny gets worried a little bit, you know, you're like, oh, I thought I'd be off. But there was many, there was many instances. Right. But in the very beginning, I realized that I was very limited with time. And I had a young child at the time as well. So I was like, OK, this isn't going to work. This is very limited. So I decided to train in doing an online course. And that was when I discovered marketing. And I was like, oh, my God, marketing, all the work that had to be done.

[00:24:26] I learned that I sold my program before I even had the program built. Right. So I was working backwards. Right. I was like, well, it didn't even make sense. But that's how I did it. And I continued to do that. And then that cost me a fortune that did. And that was like gut wrenching handing that money over. And then there was one thing after another, you know, and it's all in investing because you're investing in an outcome, you know, and to provide the opportunity for something bigger and better to come along. But it is both exciting and nerve wracking at the same time.

[00:24:55] But by God, is there such freedom in it? There really is. And you know what? I deserve it. And everybody else does as well. And we're in this for a reason, you know, to empower other people. And that's why I love these group podcasts and the groups that all these women are in and pairing and cheering each other on. So it's really important. So, yeah, it's both terrifying, but absolutely exhilarating as well, Debs. And so I think the clear answer to that is that you keep going and you have learned to understand that there is investment and that those investments pay off.

[00:25:26] And that sometimes there's a continuum of investment and building your business is exactly that. It's not just a you start and it unfolds and shows things that come up like marketing that you're like, oh, oh, oh, this little marketing thing over here. Right. Right. This is beyond my friend saying that, wow, you're so good at that. You should do it, you know? Mm hmm. All right. Very cool. And now what about for yourself?

[00:25:50] You know, when I started my business, I built it in such the feminine flow, like so much of my intuition. Speaking of marketing, that was not my lane to swim in. So I built my whole business on with no website, no social media presence, did a half a million dollars in the first three years just through organic and referrals. And so it was it was it was very much feminine, intuitive led.

[00:26:17] And then my business exponentially grew and exploded when COVID hit. I was very prepared for it, but I wasn't prepared for the amount of structure and everything that it needed. And I knew myself as a healer and as a guide, as a coach, not as like a CEO. I was like, who am I to be this? So a lot of my lack of confidence in that way, a lot of old patterns came up for me and I leaned on others.

[00:26:46] I then started to rely on others. I brought on partners that ended up being the wrong partners and I got farther and farther away from my intuition. And so, yeah, COVID was great for a year or two. And then I found myself just losing connection to what really mattered and not knowing the direction I wanted to go. And everything got impacted, you know, the focus, the energy, the time, the the the the revenue.

[00:27:15] And so it like I hit this place of like I'm in a dark tunnel and I don't even see what I want. I just know I don't want these partners anymore. And so it was really hard to go from so much success to this. Like, will I ever get back to that again? And I don't even have a clear vision.

[00:27:36] And I think the love that my clients and past clients had for my business and the love that I had for it kept me going through that dark tunnel. It took about two years to move through it and really rebuild. But I'm so grateful for all that because I got to discover that, damn, I am a pretty good CEO. Yeah. Okay, I can do this. So, yeah, that was mine.

[00:28:05] It's it's, you know, it's the part behind the curtain. That's what I call it. It's like there's the curtain, there's the performance of the curtain, which is actual and authentic. And then there's all the moving parts, right? The lights, the camera, the action, selling the tickets to the show. It's all that stuff that is the unfolding of learning new skills and sometimes can derail us or we can use the wrong services with the wrong people or what have you.

[00:28:31] It's all of that where, you know, you spend money on a marketing campaign and it doesn't and you spend working in camera does. And then you spend right. It's it's all of that put together. Oh, my goodness. All right. Carmen, and for you, what about you? So when the new business feel kind of wears off a little bit, what's some of the behind the scenes and where are you now? Hmm. Yeah. So I so appreciate the vulnerability that I've heard here today.

[00:28:55] And I'll continue with that because early on, I mean, clearly I went from a clinical space to an entrepreneur and I had no idea what I was doing. And I leaned on people who I thought knew and it was it was learning who who I could rely on and where I could learn more. And and I was in this kind of Pollyanna state for a while. And and and then I felt so bombarded. I'm like, well, what do I really want to do?

[00:29:24] As I've never asked myself that. And I'm in my 50s and I'm really asking, what do I really want? And it was a really earth shaking moment for me to think about that. And what I realized when I paid attention, that that's when I could really zero in. And so marketing, for instance, I knew nothing about that, but I started to learn. I'm a photographer. Right. And so people were asking me, how do you do your marketing? That's so brave of you to show up.

[00:29:53] And and they're like, will you help me? And I thought, there's an idea. OK. And and it went along like this. Right. I'm like, oh, good idea. I could do that. And and then I looked at this feel right. Is this for me? And then when things happen like pandemic and I was had gone through divorce pandemic and the day of lockdown, the first day I was diagnosed with cancer and I really needed to rethink what

[00:30:19] now, you know, what am I going to do now and what felt right to me and to not, you know, that personal effeminate energy. And so for me, it's the yeah, the behind the scenes can be really chaotic. And then I just need to go for a walk in nature and calm it down and just sometimes just wait for the answer to land in my lap. It's there. But I had to be quiet for that. Very cool. Thank you so much for sharing. Thank you for sharing.

[00:30:50] Sailing. So when I should have been celebrating a million dollars in revenue in 2010, popping the champagne instead, it was 9 a.m. I was sitting in my car. I had just completed another three hour shift with a client and up since 4 a.m. And I was sobbing my eyes out because this was my average day. I was working 80 hour weeks to hit that million and maintain it.

[00:31:18] And I didn't know what else to do. And so I went to my parents' house afterwards because my routine was that I would shower change and then go work another 12 hours doing what I had to do as the franchise owner. And my mom encouraged me to meet with a coach and it was a family friend. And so I did. But I was completely embarrassed about it. I was the problem solver, figure it out kind of girl. And so I put it as a private appointment on my calendar.

[00:31:46] I sculpted out the back door, didn't tell my team where I was going. Went to this shady diner down the plaza and met with him and basically vomited all of my problems for the past three years onto him. Kind of like, OK, if you're the expert and you know what it is, you know, and he summed it up into three things. But ultimately, the theme was my business lacks systems.

[00:32:12] That was why my open door policy really was more of a revolving door until five o'clock when everyone would go home and I'd be able to throw off my suit jacket and kick off my heels and finally get work done. And so what I did over the next two years is continue to be stubborn and figure it out on my own, maybe. But really, I rebuilt the foundation of my business.

[00:32:38] I redesigned it from the ground up from what I wanted because I no longer wanted the 40 owner, the 40 hour owner operator franchise model they had sent me. That was really taking me 80 hours. And I redesigned it to a part time model that worked for me. And so now that's exactly what I teach women is I teach women in service based businesses around the million dollar mark is how to redesign the four structural pillars in their business.

[00:33:08] So that way it runs without you having to touch everything. No fixing, no micromanaging, no, you know, reinventing everything because it's in your head. And really developing a mission driven team that allows them job ownership and gives you the freedom to be that strategic leader that you know in your heart. Very cool. I'm hearing lots of things around worth it, foundation, risking. And what about for you, Ocean?

[00:33:37] So when you realized that your dream was cool and you started to create your business, just like everyone here, you're creating your business. Now you get to do what it is that you want to do. So when some of the real work started, like the infrastructure and everything to keep your business afloat, what was that like for you? What was some of the hardest things that you overcame? And what are some of the cool things that are happening? Yeah, it was quite interesting to learn all the new aspects and the things I didn't know before.

[00:34:08] And it was also a little bit frustrating with learning new things that like, you know, it took me a while to get used to and things I didn't want to do. And because usually I like just making designs and making the pieces. And that was the fun part of it and creating something new. But learning the new parts and the behind the scenes was, it was interesting. But then you kind of get used to it after a while.

[00:34:34] And yeah, now it all kind of works together and it all now makes sense. And what we're doing now is, well, we just came back from the Oscars week in LA, which is really awesome. And we usually get invited to that now. And that was really fun to be part of and being a VIP for once. And that was really exciting. I really liked that part of it. But it all comes together at the end of the day. It seems like everything we all figured out at one point.

[00:35:03] And just always learning something new and meeting new people. Yeah, it's all figure out of all. And yeah, and you do have those wins. I mean, it's interesting, right? So we were down at the Oscars and that flip. And I think that we've all probably had it in our business when things flip. Like when things flip and you're like, wow, now I'm on the other side of the table. That literally what happened to Ocean where he was on one side of the table, surveying celebrities. And then the next event he went to the next day, he was on that side of the table.

[00:35:33] Being able to be served as that way. And I think that's just metaphoric for what happens when you do the due diligence and you do the work, right? So you do the work. So you put in the work and the rewards come and it continues like that. That's what I'm hearing. So far, I'm hearing risk taking. I'm hearing foundation. I'm hearing marketing. I'm hearing learning things you need to do. I'm hearing learning more about yourself, right? Leaning in. Oh my goodness. So Mandy. Oh, actually, no, Nicola. My friend over here.

[00:36:03] What about for you when things started to become real? Yeah, at first it was exhilarating and terrifying. At the same time, I loved and still do the freedom that entrepreneurship gives me. But I also figured, yeah, I'm wearing multiple hats. And I was used to that before. So that shouldn't have been a problem.

[00:36:24] But over time, when I got stuck, I really felt at first I was frustrated and terrified that I couldn't make it across this being stuck. But I noticed a pattern over time that I would always go back to my roots. When I'm stuck, when I'm overwhelmed, I always go. I hold everything briefly. I come to quiet. I note everything down. I make a plan.

[00:36:53] And that's really what helped me with that. And then I can just put my nose down, get the hit the ground running and follow this plan. And if, for example, I still couldn't make it, then I would be able to seek out advice and seek experts who could help me get past this particular hurdle that I might have been on. And really, then it was, it's about, yeah, throwing spaghetti at the wall to seeing what sticks and noticing these patterns and then just keep going.

[00:37:22] And I always followed my gut feeling knowing I wanted to do this. I wanted to see myself succeed. I was telling myself, I deserve this and I'm going for it. And so, yeah, just keeping going, planning, moving forward and just never let it go. Don't let this dream go. Awesome. Oh, my goodness. Mandy, over to you.

[00:37:49] Well, as I said previously, I decided to go back to study. So I found myself ridiculously busy. So I had started this business with my cousin so that we could have these incredible flexible hours. And a few years in, I'm working, you know, weekdays on the business and then nighttime and weekends studying, which meant I missed, you know, a lot of family gatherings and social occasions. But I loved it. Like, I absolutely loved it.

[00:38:18] And I also took on getting a license to manufacture organic products. So what we did when we started, I guess we were like a lot of small skincare brands. We had these products and we looked at what other people were charging and thought, well, charge about the same. But that's not really how you should do your costs. So I found that I really did need to become a cosmetic chemist because once I could take

[00:38:46] my concepts, create the formulations and then make them myself, suddenly our costs went way down. So we became a lot more profitable. And that the last year we had that business before we sold it and closed bits down, I was making skincare all the time in the factory. We had a big warehouse and yeah, it turns out I didn't actually love that.

[00:39:10] But yeah, my decision to do something I loved ended up really benefiting the company by making it a lot more profitable. Very cool. Very cool. And over to you, Mary, behind the scenes. Oh my goodness. Yes. So much, right? So going from being a virtual assistant to managing a team of virtual assistants and growing that, just making that shift from undoing the work, I created a job for myself to being

[00:39:37] the leader and the CEO was big. You have to go through imposter syndrome and all of that. And then when I became a coach, like who am I to be coaching people? I'm only two years into my business, right? So really going through that mental expansion and owning your gifts and your talents. And then systems are such a huge part of running a business, right? And so investing in the right systems, we've all made those mistakes where we invested in

[00:40:03] the wrong systems and knowing when to pay attention to that intuition, like this is not working for me. I need, you know, Annette said that before. Annette said that it's not working. And being willing to say, okay, that's not working. I need to just cut my losses and find something that will work because we have to try a lot of things, right? So find the one that's going to work exactly right for your business.

[00:40:29] But I think we all have that intuition and we know, like, this is not the right path for me. I need to just cut my losses and move over here to do something different. So I think that makes a big difference. And then, you know, really allowing yourself to keep growing and knowing what fills your bucket. So I, one of my top values is fun. And if I can't have fun in what I do, it becomes a drudgery really

[00:40:54] fast. So how can I make it fun? So for me, I love having conversations with business owners. I love paddleboarding. So about eight years ago, I started a networking group called On the Water Networking, where I get to have those conversations while on paddleboarding, right? So it's my business. I can design it to look like what I want, right? It doesn't have to look like everybody else's business. So I think, you know, listening again to that intuition and paying attention to what brings you joy in your business, and then how do we keep expanding upon that?

[00:41:23] Oh my goodness. So look, I'm going to throw a question at you because it is time. We are talking out on time and I'm going to make this super quick. I'm going to talk to the audience right now. I am sure that you are full of inspiration and ideas. And I want to say to you, if someone said something here that you want to learn more, this is super easy. You're going to reach out. You're going to reach out because we're going to have all their information in their show notes, in the show notes. And if for some reason you need to just reach out to me to have

[00:41:50] me put you together with somebody, we will. And if you see yourself here and you want to be sitting on the stage talking about your experience, then honestly get on the stage. This is not difficult. The website is the same as my name. It's Dev Drummond. Just hit the button and we're going to get you on the stage and you can share your stories because really that's what this podcast is about. It's called Mission Accepted. It goes beyond saying yes. As you heard here today, it goes beyond saying I want to be or I want to make a change or my back's against the wall or something

[00:42:19] happened in my family and I need to make extra money or I've been let go of a job or I thought this was going to be fun and it's not and it's somewhere else. There's all sorts of reasons why entrepreneurship shows up in our life. And it's about the duration and what you go through and the business development and the personal development that goes alongside that, that helps you decide to stay. And I don't think I've met anybody and I've been doing this for more than three days to say that you have to do it with people, even if you are doing it on your own, right?

[00:42:49] So the collective force of who's in your head, who've you been pulling inspiration from? And I know that you did that here today. I want to go around because if what have I heard through all of you speaking as I heard, it's worth it. I've heard it's worth it. Every time we talked, I've heard it's worth it. So it's just me and my crazy mind, maybe. But I want to go and super quickly. I want to ask you something cool, like something so cool that happened to you as a

[00:43:14] result of it. It may not be cool to anybody else, but it was cool to you. What's one of the coolest things that's happened for you, for you, not necessarily a client when a client had a result or blah, blah, blah. What about you? Bring it home. What was something that really, you know, for me, I'll tell you, I'll give you an example. So obviously I was with Ocean because we happen to be, you know, we happen to have the same gene pool. And I was with him when we were doing the Oscars

[00:43:40] event. And there was lots of cool things. I could have said it was when, you know, this actor or this actress or this whatever. But you know what was really cool? I looked on my phone on day three of day four of a very long, you know, very long days. And one of my favorite family members sent me a message and it was just like, congratulations, congratulations. You did it. Kind of like a, you did it. And that just meant everything to me more than, you know, the celebrity handshakes I was

[00:44:09] making. So that was one of those cool things that happened that made me feel really activated that it was the right thing. So we're going to go around super quickly, not a story, but a statement. Joanne, what about for you? Cool thing. Yeah, well, Deb, I'm a well-established sleep expert now with credibility and visibility. And I'm speaking all around Ireland, Northern Ireland and England and globally online as well. And how that came about was my trip to the Oscars two years ago. And when

[00:44:35] I came back from that, you know, my story, Deb, my phone didn't stop ringing and everybody was saying, oh my God, Joanne, what are you doing? Blah, blah, blah. A couple of days ago, I literally just got off the plane from LA again after being to the Oscars. This time, this time I got to bring my daughter. That is the coolest thing ever. She's 15 years of age. She's an author in the 262 Mission Accepted book as well. And she got to meet a celebrity. She got to walk the carpet. She'd done three media interviews, which is absolutely incredible. She said to me, mom, I want to get

[00:45:03] off the carpet now. I said, are you nervous? No, she says, I'm bored. She's not nervous. She was bored. So Deb, that is the coolest thing ever. I mean, that is a memory that's going to be written in history in our family books like Italian. Thank you, Deb. I really appreciate you. And I really appreciate all the 262 sisters as well for making it happen. Thank you. That's so cool. That's a generational piece, right? What we, very cool. Okay. And now I see you thinking, girlfriend,

[00:45:29] cool thing. Okay. Well, I'd say when, two years ago, when I said I'm done and Mary kind of touched on this, I'm done doing this business if I'm not having fun. Like I only want to do what lights me up. And I have to face the fear of the rigid part of like, if I don't do all these things, it'll never succeed again. And I had to face the fear of being okay with it failing and only doing

[00:45:57] what lights me up. And what's that transformed to here? I am two years later. I love every day of my business. Everything that I do lights me up. And therefore I'm just attracting the right people. I literally met my CMO, Ashley, who you've had a call with, who has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry. I met her at a brunch, at a girl's brunch this summer. And so just the

[00:46:21] alignment when I'm lit up doing only the things that bring me joy. Right on, right on. Okay, Carmen, over to you. Cool thing. Cool thing. Yep. So I'm the girl who during network meetings would take off when it's time to introduce ourselves because I would just head to my car. It was too much. And last year, I've been speaking more. Last year, I entered a competition and was a semi-finalist

[00:46:47] on a big stage, which was huge for me and very cool. And that my granddaughters got to know that and see that. It's really the cool part. Awesome. Right on. Sailing. So in November, my little girl dream came true. I was the shy little introvert who did not talk to anyone, but somehow wanted to be famous at the same time. And last summer, I received an email from a TV

[00:47:16] network in LA and they reached out and said, do you want your own TV show? And why don't you come out and try it out and be on mine? So I got to do that in November. And it was so cool to experience it because it was nothing that I ever put on a vision board or set a goal about, but it was always just this little girl dream that I had. And so when I stepped on that stage and had all the lights and

[00:47:40] then it was done, I was like, I did it. Like it took 47 years, but I did. Right on. Oh my goodness. Very cool. And Ocean, something cool. What's one of the coolest things that's happened for you and your business? There's a lot of cool things that's happened. I think doing collabs, seeing people wearing my clothing is one of them. I'd say being able to go to different countries is one of them for sure.

[00:48:10] Like going to lean on the States and stuff. Yeah. I think it was probably the big three. And then like meeting new people down there and people have watched some shows that I like, I'm like, Oh, I've seen, I've watched the whole series and I've seen you in person. That's cool. That is cool. I know. I remember when the first time you got a picture sent to you by a friend, watching someone who was on a SkyTrain that was wearing your hat.

[00:48:36] Yeah. First time that you, someone that you didn't know that didn't know was wearing your clothing. I know that was a magical day. I'm sure. Yes. Very cool. All right. And Nicola, cool. Cool. Cool. It is when things start coming together, things when the universe makes things come into, and I finally realized, Hey, some of these spaghettis are sticking and I'm getting emails. Oh,

[00:49:05] can you come on board and give me a quote for this design? Or can you create a system for me here? And when I go like, Oh my God, I'm going to be so busy. And this is an amazing problem. Sorry. Super grateful for that. All right. That is very cool. That's one of the cool things all entrepreneurs want to experience. Mandy, something cool that's happened from making this decision.

[00:49:28] The coolest thing is being able to start my second company on my own and being a solopreneur. It's my ideas, my passion, my decisions, my compromises. And I absolutely love it. I love being my own boss and yeah, I love being a solopreneur. Right on, right on. All right, Mary, wrap us up with one of the coolest things that's happened from this decision to be an

[00:49:56] entrepreneur. Okay. I was lucky enough to build a business the way that I want to build it so that I was, I could go and live in Spain for five weeks last October. And I realized I want to share this international travel with other women. And so I launched a retreat and it sold out and we're coming to Ireland, Joanne, to connect with you. We're coming to Ireland in May. So I love the fact that I get to experience international travel and do what I love at the same time. It's just so cool.

[00:50:25] So I hope listeners and to everyone that is listening and watching, we love our viewers. You get a sense of behind the scenes, in front of the seams, the dreams that start and the dreams that continue. And I wanted to ask that final question. Thanks for hanging in here with me to let you know that it is worth it. These are the things that sometimes we don't remember until we're asked, but there is cool things that would not have ever happened if we didn't walk this path.

[00:50:52] Yeah. So thanks for sharing some time with me today for my guests. Thank you as always. And no offense to anyone that has podcasts on here. I know there's a few of you. I only have the best podcast audience ever, and I love you and adore you. And thank you so much for sharing and participating. And I can't wait to be here a year from now. I expect all of you to be here from year from now. And we're going to tell our listeners who's also going to be here a year from now. We'll probably be doing a TV episode, but nevermind that. We'll be here talking about how incredible

[00:51:19] and all the cool things that happened in this year. So thank you as always audience, you be well and you stay groovy. Bye for now. Bye. Bye.