Ep.47 Building Your Business Around You

One day, your story will tell itself.  It doesn't matter if your Uncle Larry makes fun of you at Thanksgiving or your mom's worried that you're sharing too much in your podcast.  People don't have to get it.  

In this episode Whitney and I chat about being your authentic self, learning to accept money in a new way, the realities of many early entrepreneurs and so much more!

Whitney Baker is a facilitator who helps women find a new sense of possibility. She is the host of the Electric Ideas podcast and the creator of a signature six week mastermind targeted at moms.

Click here for full show notes and links to the references mentioned in this episode.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Are you holding back who you really are because of something Aunt Joyce told you about being a little too woo? A little too out there? What if I told you that the things you're scared of sharing are exactly the things that will build connections with your audience? I'm your host and business busted Jamie Renee. Today on the Perfection That Required podcast, I'm chatting with Whitney Baker. She's a leader and mentor to women seeking new possibilities and the host of the Electric Ideas Podcast. Today, we got deep in conversation about the pivot she's made in her career and how it took her embracing her whole self to find the meaning and connections she desired. When Whitney began her career in journalism, she was excited to bring something meaningful to the world. Despite having invested a ton of time and energy into making her mark, she was forced to pivot after the economy tanked in 2008. We began our discussion there with a theme you just can't get around when you're talking about starting a business.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

I think starting your own business brings up all your stuff, right? It's like, oh, that's something I need to work on or work out. So I was working in journalism and the economy tanked in 2008. And I thought that I had just kind of landed in my like career. I'm gonna grow. And I'd invested tons of time and energy in it and was excited and felt like I was sharing my voice and doing something that I thought would be meaningful for the world. Um, but when the economy tanked, I I was forced to pivot. I just could not um have a stable income. It just didn't work. So I ended up going corporate and it was a little messy and scary at the time, but I found my path. So I worked in a global marketing agency environment, and that's where I really built up kind of like my middle-aged career. And here I became um a creative director and was going great until I had two little girls within 14 months. And that yeah, that shifted the dynamic a lot. So from there, I really was like, okay, this is not working. And I tried everything. I tried, I went back full time. I was kind of very like, I'm a working mom, but like I was looking around and I felt like all my friends at the time who were having children either like were really like knew they were going back to work or they knew they were staying home. And I really wanted it all. Like I love being a mom, but like my work identity, I'd worked so hard. And I really wanted to do something with um, you know, my skills and my passion. But I tried everything. I tried going four days. My I was the first one in a global huge company that they let go three days, and I thought, oh, this is gonna be the holy grail. Now I've got this balance. And it was worse. And I just felt frantic. And I had at the time I didn't know any my boundaries. Um, so I was like warping during little pockets when I was supposed to be at home.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

After some time, Whitney left her corporate job and ended up kind of just falling into freelancing.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

When I started freelancing, um, I was just I put a ton of pressure. I think I was still kind of wound up in that corporate anxious energy. And I was having these calls and they're like, oh, we love you, but you know, it's just, you know, we ended up going a different direction, and I'd feel this wash of relief. I hired a career coach because in my mind, I just wasn't getting the right opportunities. She kept suggesting these companies kind of, and I'd just be like, ugh, that dance so boring. And like my nervous system would just be like, uh heck no. It was almost like I was like forcing myself through. And finally she's like, Do you even want to do this anymore? So it was very, very um scary at the time to admit that. And I think in having, you know, the long view, part of it is because I'd already had that experience of like building myself up in journalism, having to start over again, and then being at like a middle place, very comfortable salary, getting like high-level roles, being able to bill um hundreds of dollars an hour as a freelancer and just having that stability. Starting over from scratch felt really scary. What do you think was underneath the fear? I mean, fear of starting over again from not only like a monetary perspective, which I think a lot of women always say, Oh, I had this stability and I owed it to my family. I think it goes a lot deeper than that. I think that like a lot of women um have wanted to prove themselves in the world, and you can feel like a dilettante, like you're just kind of like, oh, jumping around and like you're not gonna be taken seriously if you are oh, now I'm doing this. I feel that all the time.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

As far as whenever you pivot or whenever you're making different choices, it's one of those where it's like, what are people gonna think? I just think it brings up a lot of uncomfortable emotions that not everybody is ready to face.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

Oh my gosh. I let's let's talk about this more because at some point you have to feel comfortable being visible in your business, whether that's doing things like this or on social media. And I think that that's a really big hurdle, especially for women. And some people are like, oh my gosh, like they picture like conversations at Thanksgiving with an odd uncle and uh like awkwardly explaining that I'm doing this now. Let me tell you, when you actually do it and you're on the other side of things, your story will tell itself. You just have to get over the hump. Yeah. There may be a couple of humps, and that's okay too. Yeah. Oh, absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 6:04

So tell me what you love most about electric ideas. Like, what is it that's fulfilling you now that you didn't have in your previous iterations of Whitney?

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Oh my gosh, this question will make me smile. I am I'm really happy. I have to just say, like, I thought I just went through such a period of being like, I if that I don't know what I would do. And I've always been called to serve. I knew that the meaning part was missing for me. And I really wanted to do something where I felt like I was uplifting humanity. I tried to scratch that itch through volunteering, and I was like, oh, maybe that, and I for some people that doesn't always have to be through your job. But like, it was just like, no, it was just like there, I knew it. And I've always been called to share my voice and to find something that I feel like genuinely is something I love and I'm really good at, and I'm doing it and I'm helping people is amazing. And just having the opportunity to connect with all these like interesting, wise women across the globe, Jamie. I just feel really lit up. And I feel like I am a living walking truth of uh taking the plunge and believing what's possible, and I want to share that.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

That's amazing. Honestly, I feel the same way. I mean, this is season two of my podcast. I'm not getting paid for anything, you know, but it's like this is not a money-making gig for me at this point. But I can't even imagine not doing it. Like, I had so much fun over the last year and I've learned so much, but it's just like that connection and that sharing. Tell me about starting your podcast. Like, what kind of things did you have to address within yourself? Because that's a whole other layer of putting your voice out there and being heard, and you know, all of a sudden your ideas, your electric ideas are now like in the universe and anybody can Google, anybody, you know, all of those things. So, like, did you have to address some things within yourself in order to kind of put yourself out there in that way?

SPEAKER_00 8:18

I think a few things. One, I had to just come out of the closet with what I was generally interested in, which sound, you know, and I think it dips into some spiritual things that aren't for everybody and some self-help and growth. And I've had some messages from immediate family members in my life that were like, oh, that stuff's kind of woo-woo, or that stuff's not important, or that's just for people that are broken. And it's been a part of me that I've always been into this sort of uplifting and interesting. I've always been on some sort of spiritual path or reading or learning or taking a course. I, you know, I've journaled since I was five. And like I realized that somewhere along the line of my life, especially during that time, I was working in corporate, and I had two kids that I didn't realize that that was such a piece of me, that that's me. I had to come home to the truth that this is authentically like what I love talking about and learning about, and I'm passionate about it. And that can be my career. Like, even back in journalism, when people were like, What do you want to write about? I felt like I had to take myself pretty seriously, you know, like it wasn't legit if I was talking about the type of things I talk about. And trust me, I have scientists, I have authors, I have like hard-hitting, interesting, you know, educated women on my podcast. But some of the topics are meant to show women that there's more possibility. It's about like living your best life. And for I had to realize that that if that's what I'm called to talk about, there's a reason.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Yeah, exactly. I mean, I I understand what you're saying because the it can come off as a little woo and it's just going inward and inward and inward until you find that core, and then trying to live from that place every day is what it seems like. And I think the how that comes out, whether it's Pollyanna or a little too woo for people. I feel like it's at this point in time where that part of the conversation is starting to get normalized. As we have these conversations, the things that we're kind of scared to share about ourselves are just becoming more and more accepted. And so that's a little bit easier to really just kind of put yourself out there there. But also a lot less people are paying attention to you than we think.

SPEAKER_00 10:44

That is also true. Yes. I would have this advice for people who are on their entrepreneurial journey. It's so easy to look outside of ourselves and look at people that we want to emulate. And I'm all about like getting inspired. But if you're in this like fear of like sharing your truth or being seen, it all comes back to my why for me and remembering I'm doing this to be of service to the world. And it becomes like not so much about you. So when you think about like how you're gonna be judged, people are gonna judge you no matter what. If you're too much, you're gonna get judged. If you're quiet in the corner, you're gonna get judged. So I've really done a lot of work to just let that go and know that if I'm being authentic and showing up myself, that makes my job really easy because I don't have to overthink it. A lot more fun. Also, the more you can do that, the more you're gonna attract business partners and clients and people who work with you that are aligned with you. And it just, it's just a chemistry thing.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Has there ever been a time that you wanted to quit being an entrepreneur?

SPEAKER_00 11:50

It's a great question. I feel like since I'm still in the early phases of my entrepreneurial journey, I haven't been ready to throw on the towel. But I think that anyone who says there aren't dips would not be being honest. I I think what happens is you I get such in the inspired zone and I'm working, I'm working. And then I've just realized that monetizing in a very meaningful way is going to take time. And that's a lot of something that people don't talk about enough, I think, in the first couple of years of a business. You have to be patient, you're like planting seeds and you have to invest to make money, and it's scary as hell. And there's been a few moments where I've started monetizing and I do the math, and I'm like, oh my God, because I've spent so much emotional and human and fine. I'm high net freedom, is my um, you know, what I work for. My time is my most valuable asset. I've spent so much time on my business. And most of the time it's a labor of love. But, you know, women deserve to get paid. And it takes time. So there's been definitely dips where I'm just like, okay, if I would have spent this much time in my past freelancing work, I would be blowing up my name. It's it's a it's a tricky territory to get into a slump that way. But I have to really like take then stop and like hold the aperture and think about how miserable I was and that I felt like soul sucking. And what I always tell myself is when I'm having a a dip, it's still I'm in a much better place than that feeling of uncertainty and murkiness of like not knowing what I was doing or not knowing what was possible or feeling like I didn't have a path. And so that's always a powerful reminder for me.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

Yeah, no, I like that. You know, that is something to be said though, because about it takes time to make money. I had grandiose ideas of leaving my corporate job and replacing my corporate income within like a year. Actually, I think my goal was six months, but you know, it's like, oh yeah, no, that has not happened. Um, I did end up going back to corporate, hence the name change and all that. I'm much happier where I'm at now. But like that's one of the things that I really had to pull back on really the expectations I built around how quickly I could monetize and what that would look like. You know, it's when you're working in corporate, that typically comes with like a fairly nice salary and you know, benefits and all of that stuff. And whenever you just kind of get rid of that and then put all of that pressure on yourself to make, you know, it's like a totally different story. So I know what you mean about like, oh gosh, if I would have been freelancing, like I would have been here. So it's I get that for sure. And I just I want people to know that like that should not discourage you in any way. It should just be encouraging, one, that like it takes time and that's not a point to give up. Like you said, like you're planting seeds, you're doing these things, you're learning new skills a lot of the time. You know, you're doing things you've never done before. But also, I think it's behooves us to be realistic about those things. So we're not setting ourselves up for failure. There are those like one in a million people that can go out and have those success stories of, oh yeah, I did this in three months or six months. And I've talked to them, I've had them on my show. Like, I like I know those people exist. But also, that's not the story for the vast majority. And so like it shouldn't be discouraging at any point, because really building an online business, in my opinion, is a long game. You know, I know that that for me is delayed gratification. A YouTube channel is a slow build, a podcast is a slow build before you're monetizing those things, you know. So it's there's ways to monetize, but really just kind of give yourself a lot more time than you think.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

That, you know, what's coming to my mind, I I so agree with you, but also I think a conversation that I think is important around starting before you're ready to, and in small ways, because even if you're it instead of being like, I think what happens with some people is they're like, all right, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna quit my job, and then I'm gonna have all this time and I'm gonna build my business. And uh well, I agree, I want to hold space. I hope that works for so many women and that they have like insta success. But one thing I've found is um you have to give your yourself space to play and iterate. Like the the literally, Jamie, the first workshop I ever held was on one of my best friend's back porch, and I made myself charge her and another good friend a dollar just because I wanted to practice. I love it. And I want to be honest about that because people say, Well, when did you launch? That was six months before I launched. I was noodling and I was still freelancing, but I was just like concepting and I was just like, okay, is there something here? And doing that and having the feeling, I was just like, Yes, okay, this is worth exploring. And it can be it, it can give you confidence to like wean yourself up your job to have like proof of concept and build. But I feel like I would encourage anyone, especially if you're like, I don't care if you're selling baked goods or offering a service, if you can find the smallest ever way to just test it, to pressure test it in a monetized way, because you got to practice taking money in different ways. I'm used to making money, I'm used to asking people for my services. But when I'm creating something new, that took a lot of practice because it was like something that's building. I think that that's the way I would go because then you're kind of still have your stability, but you're easing into gross until you have kind of an inflection point where you feel confident that you can just lean in. And I hope that, you know, everyone gets to that point. But it might take a couple years. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 18:12

That's kind of where, like, whenever I had to go back to corporate, I really just kind of took a step back and I'm like, okay, I am like doing a three-year plan. Some people may be like, oh my gosh, three years, like how you know, but it's like I've done trying to fit it in six months. I've done trying to fit it in nine months, and it's just like it's not enough time. So it's like this next year, I'm just focusing on the growth and development and like all of those sorts of things. And so it's like I've I've given myself a much longer, more realistic runway before I like ease out the door and corporate again. But it's like, I don't think there'll be a time when I will walk away again without at least having some sort of income. Like I feel like there's just too much pressure. I mean, for me personally, I'm I'm sure women can do it. But it's like for me personally, like knowing those things about yourself, it's like it it jacks with my brain and I put way too much pressure on myself to immediately perform to the level that I was like with my corporate job. That's not realistic.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

And I think it's so important for your listeners to hear that honest truth because it's messy sometimes, you know, and it doesn't messy most of the time. And it doesn't, you know, we hear these awesome success stories, and I again I want to hold space for it being like clean and easy and this like zero to a hundred uh voyage for women. I hope you find that. But if you have a few false starts, that's okay. If it takes three years to slowly build, that's okay. And also if you make a decision, your success gets to be defined by your success. There's so much like male culture, like I'm not like a venture-backed business and I'm not working 90 hours a week. I burnout doesn't look good on me, right? We both right, you know? And so I have to make peace with the rate at which my business is growing. Yeah. Because I have boundaries around what I'm willing to invest right now. Yeah. I'm building it around my life. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

So if you could give some advice to yourself a few years ago, that what would you say?

SPEAKER_00 20:28

I think at the time I'd given myself permission to explore pieces of myself that I'd abandoned. I was I have always been a writer and I got back to my writing practice. I was volunteering a lot because again, it's like I had these sense of what was missing and I and this reclaiming, but I also like knew I felt like I felt talented, I felt called, I want to work in some capacity. Uh and so while I I I feel like I would have told her that these things that I'm giving myself space to explore, even in small capacities, aren't random because they're part of my path to coming back and like finding something that is um purpose-driven that I'm gonna do with my life. I love that. That's beautiful. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 21:18

Well, um, when is your next workshop, mastermind, all of those things, and how can people find you?

SPEAKER_00 21:25

Yeah, thank you for asking. I'm excited. I my next um, so season to shift is my six-week mastermind. And the next one is launching January 25th. And that's specifically for moms, just because um, well, the podcast is more general, and for women, I feel like moms are who the who I can help the most now, just because I had touched the murky water. So that starts on January 25th, and um I actually perfect timing because I just opened the doors and like settled the date. So that'll be great. And then I have a rolling opportunity to do bespoke workshops with me.

SPEAKER_01 22:08

Thanks again to Whitney for coming on the show and sharing her electric ideas with us. For more information on everything mentioned in this episode, head on over to the show notes that are linked in the description. Come say hello on Instagram at JamieRene, and I hope that today is a great one. Perfection not required.