Victoria Volk: Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, whatever time it is that you are listening to this episode. I thank you for being here. This is episode one ninety five, rising tides, mental health, tips for women owned small businesses. And this idea for this podcast episode came about because number one, it's May Mental Health awareness month. And number two, I had recently attended a women's business summit or conference where I was in a room full of a hundred around a hundred women small business owners from across my state of North Dakota, and all doing amazing, unique different things, there was an ultrasound woman there that her business is going into people's homes and doing newborn or OB Ultrasounds. She does them for gender reveals and just for maybe a more private at home experience. Another woman helps goes into women's homes for postpartum support. Just so many different, cool, unique ideas. And so today, I had asked some of them to submit some information to me so that I could feature them on this podcast. And also, I'm going to be sharing, if you haven't seen already, if you go to my social media, If you wanna learn a little bit more or kinda get a recap of the guests on this podcast episode, you can go to my social media. At the only chart on Instagram, the only chart our only chart LLC on Facebook, and and I'll put the links are in the show notes to my social media, but you can check out their more information there and there'll be a picture and all of that. So I just wanted to feature some women owned small businesses because you know, especially, like, when you're in a small business, it's generally a lot of women. It's a solo solo adventure and we don't have employees or if we do, it's, you know, small team of people and it can get lonely. It can feel lonely. And, you know, there's so many struggles that come along with being an entrepreneur and having a small business. But to be able to come together at like a women's conference or summit and share your struggles, share ideas, brainstorm, learn about branding, marketing, trademarking, all these different topics that are relevant to women in small business. Were presented at this women's conference, which was three days packed full of information and networking and it was just a really great time. And so I just thought I would, you know, coming back home and trying to fall asleep, I just had this idea, like, I'm gonna feature some of these women for main mental health for small business because even at the summit, people I mean, I heard people saying how, you know, they barely take time for themselves, and this was the recharge they needed, and a lot of them are moms. And so I'm I'm you know, the same boat. Like, I'm a mom and small business owner and I, you know, have another job and so it's like all the things. Right? We're doing all the things and trying to build, you know, maybe a side hustle or trying to be of service to the world too. And, you know, it takes takes a village, to raise a family, and sometimes it takes a village to be in small business. So anyway, I wanted to feature some women. Today on this episode and I hope you support them, check them out. And maybe it'll even spark some ideas for you if you're listening as to what is out there, what is possible for you to create as a small business that is maybe lacking in your community. So the first business I would like to feature is three and me mobile coffee by Rachel Howard. And on my form, I asked a couple of questions. And so how she described her business was three and me. Is a pretty pink mobile coffee shop, repurposed from a vintage stock trailer. We serve fresh wraps and delicious brought pays along with a large variety of other drinks and desserts. As a pride of Dakota member, we partner with as many other local companies as we can. Our motto is simple ingredients, simply delicious. And on my form, I ask, how do you prioritize yourself and your well-being as an entrepreneur? And as a mom or bonus mom if you are one. And she said she literally has to schedule in her meet time. If she doesn't, she always ends up on the back burner. But she does have a wonderful spouse who supports her and her emotional well-being and makes sure that she always feels comfortable and empowered to take care of herself. Through yoga classes, journaling, business retreats, bubble baths, reading a book, and a good glass of Merlo, along with spending as much time outside in nature as possible. Like planting a garden and watching things grow is seriously therapeutic, she says. To the question, is there anything else you would like share that you would be helpful or supportive. She adds. You won't be liked or supported by everyone. Don't even try to please those who don't and change their minds. Focus on the people who are supporting and encouraging you if you only have so many sticks. As in time and resources. Would you put those sticks in the fire that's already burning or potentially waste your time trying to start a fire from nothing? Great tip for all of us women in small business who may be putting our sticks and resources of time to not the best use and not maybe to the best or most fruitful relationships maybe even in our lives. Or endeavors or opportunities or, you know, not everything that comes our way has to be a yes. And so I love that advice from Rachel Howard of three and me mobile coffee. The next business I would like to feature is business called the Poppy Creative by Chelsea Ciara Varella, which I hope I said her name. Right? She describes This is how she describes Poppy Creative. Welcome to the Poppy Creative, your ultimate destination for all things creative. Whether an individual, a dynamic group, or a vibrant club, our doors are wide open to cater to your needs. From studio rentals to venue spaces, we provide Canvas for your imagination to flourish. Save money with rental decor. Our collection has an eclectic mix of furniture, backdrops, and more. We can also create custom items to suit your event and style preferences, ensuring your vision becomes a stunning reality. Dive into our engaging craft classes suitable for all ages and skill levels. Her classes promise an immersive experience where everyone leaves with a peace uniquely their own. Join us in unleashing your imagination. When asked, how do you prioritize yourself and your well-being as an entrepreneur? Chelsea says, being an introverted person, I really rely on that alone time after the hustle and bustle of business business ownership working a full time job as well, three dogs, a household to run, and a husband who works shift work. Some of the things that give me peace and help me get back to my baseline are reading, journaling, watching shows or being outside. My passion is also creating. So working on my poppy stuff as busy as it is has also given me a sense of calm because I can just sit and watch new and cool ideas come to life. When asked if there was anything else she would like to share that would be helpful or supportive, she says, being such a new business I'm still working on finding that balance of work in life. It is one of the hardest things when you start out because you want your endeavors to be successful. So many small business owners often have full time positions as well, so the only time to work in our businesses are in our free time and quotations. Not really free time then, is it? Some things I have found helpful is getting everything on a board. What are the things you need to do? What are the things you want to do, and if there are deadlines. Seeing everything in one space, which she uses a foam core board with sticky notes so she can move them around. Seeing it laid out gives you a scope of tasks and allows you to set priority orders. It is always so successful checking off boxes and or completing tasks. This is something often overlooked and are oddly hard but ask for help. Use your support system if you don't have one join networking groups or find a club. I have found so many great friends and connections through networking events. It is so nice chatting with like minded people who are struggling with the same things as you. Also, build in you time on your calendar. If you have a busy week, block off time and do not give it up. Your business succeeds when you succeed and you can't do that when you are down and out from being overworked, and stressed out. Eamon Chelsea. The next business I would like to feature is Onyx and Evergreen Travel by Megan Vatinstall. Megan Vatinstall is a bismarck board and dedicated dreamer and entrepreneur who plans a bucket list dreams for a living. She is the founder of Boutique Travel Agency, Onyx and Evergreen Travel, and specializes and curating authentic experiences for the curious traveler. When asked how she prioritizes herself and her well-being as a entrepreneur, She says the best thing that I did for my personal happiness and balance was take email notifications off my phone. As a sole entrepreneur of two businesses, it can be very easy to get bombarded with questions, messages, and ideas from clients on multiple sources including Instagram messages, emails, texts, Facebook comments, messages, etcetera.
In order to ensure I give my clients and my family the best of me I've set boundaries in place to maximize productivity and joy. In terms of prioritizing myself, I enjoy reading Colleen hoover books, cuddling hardkitties, and I try to spend as much time as possible with friends and family, and my goal this summer is to take midday break for walks in the sun. When asked if there was anything else she would like to share that would be helpful or supportive, she said that You shouldn't, don't compare your starting step to someone's top shelf. Take one step at a time as the goal is much closer than you think but don't forget to practice gratitude for how far you've come. I love that too. Don't compare your starting step to someone's top shelf. And we do often forget to pause and consider how far we've come, especially as women small business owners. So thank you Megan for sharing those thoughts. Moving on, the next small business. Honor I would like to feature is Solly Frank of Cagier GEO Consulting LLC, which I hope I'm saying that right. K a j a e r, Geo Consulting LLC, and she says that Kajera is a North Dakota based woman owned technical consulting business that specialize and geospatial information systems, or GIS. Our services include mapping, data management, survey support, drawn technology, report production, and technical and theoretical training. When asked how she prioritizes her self and her well-being as an entrepreneur, she says, speaking for myself as one of the cofounders of her business, I feel that we prioritize personal connections within our team that includes discussions con concerning our families, faith and health. When asked if there was anything else she would like to share that would be helpful or supportive, she added that she tries my I try my best to take notes Of almost every discussion I have with those I work with, so I can make a proper assessment of what is going on professionally and personally with those who work closely with me, I admit that the management of the notes is not always the most efficient, but it does allow an opportunity to be more intentional with each connection I make. And that's actually a great tip for those who have teams of people to take notes if you have to to check-in with your staff and other people on your team asking, you know, genuinely how their family is, how their health is, you know, if their struggling in some way. I think it's, you know, as far as mental health awareness, it's been just like My guest in last week's episode shared Lisa shared Lisa Sugarman, you know, it's all of our responsibility to check-in on each other. And so I thought that was a great tip from Solly to share. And last but not least, We have Amanda Mogan from Dakota Dream Destinations LLC, and Dakota Dream destinations is your trusted travel agency for unforgettable adventures and heartfelt journeys. Let us guide you on a path to discovery and healing. And how she prioritizes herself and her well-being as an entrepreneur. She says as an entrepreneur. Prioritizing myself and my well-being is crucial for sustaining both personal and professional success. I carve out time for self care practices like meditation, exercise, and spending quality time with loved ones. I also set boundaries to ensure a healthy work life balance and delegate tasks when necessary to avoid burnout. Ultimately, I recognize that taking care of myself allows me to show up as my best self for my business, clients, and community. When asked if there was anything else she would like to share that would be helpful or supportive, she says as a new business owner and travel agent, I found that these two things have been extremely helpful throughout my journey for the life, for the business, and life. Continuously learn, and build strong relationships. And I couldn't agree more. I mean, I think entrepreneurship itself is a learning journey. I think you're constantly learning something new, taken out of your comfort zone maybe. And entrepreneurship too in general is living out of your comfort zone because we have to do things like, speak on video sometimes or record audio. There's one thing I've learned about using my voice. It's using my voice in a way that I feel is impactful is what is aligned for me. And so this podcast has been a great outlet for me to share my mission in my passion as a small business owner, as someone who works with Grievers, and as someone with a message to share, which I think all podcasters who you know, continue the grind week after week, year after year, it's because of a bigger mission, a bigger purpose, and a bigger impact that we want to have. And so I thank all of these five wonderful humans for sharing their tips with me and with you so I could bring them to you as small women I was gonna say small women. Women's small business owners. But I do have three tips of my own. Which a lot of them a couple of them have been already stated, but which tells me it's they're really important. And I've been an entrepreneur since my very first business actually was a photography business. I started it when my after my second was born, And I started out just photographing, like, children. Actually, I started out with weddings. Well, just my kids. Right? And that's how I think most photographers start out with their kids or out in nature or whatever. And I was kinda doing that and then I got bit by the bug and got asked to do a wedding and that that was kinda snowballed from there. So I started out in weddings professionally and then move to, you know, senior high school seniors and families and dabble into newborns really wanted to do new newborns, started them for a while, but it wasn't that it really wasn't where I phoned my my schtick, if you will. My favorite were high school seniors because they trusted me and they went along with all my crazy ideas. So I really was able to, you know, be creative and the high school seniors love that. So had that business for gosh. Well, I closed that in twenty fifteen. I think it was around it would have been around eight or nine years. Eight years. And when we moved, I we converted our garage into a studio, so I had had a photography studio. I used lighting. I did it in person ordering. Learned so, so much. And so many of the things that I learned in that business serve me today as far as QuickBooks. I learned QuickBooks through that business, taught myself QuickBooks, I taught myself Photoshop, taught myself Lightroom, taught myself photography, taught myself small business, and I didn't have here's my one here's one tip is I did not seek out support and did not network and connect with other, like, minded businesses at that time. Other small business owners And so that would be the one tip I would give off the bat is, you know, reach out for, like, minded people to, like, minded people who are, you know, account trying to accomplish a life's goal of having a small business, and maybe that's, you know, a dream, seeing a dream come to reality, and you know, the more support you have, the better. So I would have gotten inside out support much sooner in my entrepreneurial journey. But one other tip I would say is ask yourself, what are the resources available? So again, that kind of comes back to support, but people programs support. There are so many programs today, like even the women's business center in you know, the I call it the big city. It's like an hour and a half for me, and that's the we're the nearest the nearest Walmart is an hour and a half for me. If if that tells you anything about how rural I am, which as an entrepreneur in a very rural area, it can really feel isolating. It's all the more important to seek out support and network with others. This was actually the first this women's business summit was the first event I had actually attended since COVID, I believe. So just kinda getting back into that groove again and networking is kind of my goal for the remainder of this year, but definitely seek out support and resources. There's you know, organizations such as score, which I think is across the United States. It's and I believe that's free. There are so many support resources for small business owners at your local government or local you know, business development agencies seek them out. They're there for a reason. You know, be resourceful. That's one of the things that I think has helped me and served me in my business journey is that I can I'm very resourceful. Second, delegate and outsource. One of the things I did not do in my first business was delegate or outsource anything. So I was it was a lot of grinding. It was a lot of grinding. And so one of the things I did early on in the business I have now is I brought on a virtual assistant and I was actually within the second going into the second year of my business. So we had she's been with me now three years this past this March. And I've been training her and and she's learned a lot of things too, a lot of new skills that she wasn't you know, didn't learn before, and she's been with me now, like I said, for three years. So she's learned, I've learned, and she's indispensable. I I don't know what I would do without her honestly. So that is that was huge. That was really huge for me because that freed up so much of my time to spend with my family, to brainstorm other ideas, to work on training, like getting certifications and doing other things, and starting this podcast and it it just really opened up more opportunity. So I would encourage that. And lastly, some of the other women mentioned it, but also scheduling personal time and blocking it out. I will actually look at my schedule And if I feel like I'm, you know, kind of feeling the squeeze a little bit time wise or I wanna spend more time with my family or I just need a break, I want some space in my schedule. I will block out time as being unavailable where people can't schedule it. And that has really served me. And actually, as I'm, you know, working on working in my business, I've had to do that because there's certain, you know, big if I'm working on a big project or something, I can be easily distracted. And so, you know, I dedicate I've been dedicating quite a bit of time by blocking it off to work in my business. You know? And And also, like I said, to when I need space and time for myself, and I don't take appointments generally, I don't take appointments at all on Sundays, you know, and speaking of as a one time photographer, like, weekends was I mean, that everyone wanted weekends, right, and weddings, and and that's when my kids were, you know, little yet. So I don't miss that. I don't miss having my weekends, you know, devoted to other people. I mean, really, you gotta choose where your priorities are and and I I do think honestly, I do think it's possible to have a photography business without working on weekends if you aren't doing weddings for sure. But there's plenty of Friday weddings now that's actually become a hot thing because it's cheaper. So it is possible in my mind to be a Monday Friday photographer and then also to outsource and delegate some of those things. So if I were to start a photography business today, it would probably look it would look quite a bit differently. I would still do in person ordering and I would still do have the business model I did But, you know, how I do it would probably be different. But it's so important to schedule personal time and to block it out. And if you go in advance and block it out, you know, or people can't schedule it, it's yours. You know, it is yours. Because it's easy to say, you know, I'm just gonna take this time and put it in a day calendar or, like, write it on a calendar, but if you have a booking or scheduling, online scheduling calendar, and you block it out and no one can book it? That is how you schedule your personal time and block it out. It's been huge for me. In my business. So I definitely would recommend that as well as what other the other women had shared about scheduling your personal time. You know, if you wanna take a yoga class, schedule it in, put that time in as private, and and stick to it.
Really? Can't feel, you can't, what does they say, you can't give from an empty cup. Right? So, especially as muncturors, bonus entrepreneurs. You got a lot of hats that you have to wear. And so I hope that this episode was helpful to you. Rising tides do lift all boats and as small business owners. Who are women owned small businesses, it's important that we support each other and forage those connections because it can be a lonely space. So thank you so much for listening. If you have any feedback for this episode, I would love to hear it. There's actually a way you can do that. You can send me a message. If you're on Spotify, I believe that is. And leave a five star review if you thought this content was great and you want more of it. I would love to feature more small businesses in this way. As far as, like, with grief too, like, grief and small business, like, I think that would be another great topic. For the podcast. And if you are on board for that, let me know. Until next time, remember, when you unleash your heart, you unleash your life. Much love.