Episode 166 -- Steph Weber -- Crafting Experiences and Fostering Growth

Have you ever wondered what it takes to craft a truly unforgettable guest experience in the short-term rental market? Steph Weber, a maestro in branding and marketing, joins us to share her wisdom and journey from the fashion industry to revolutionizing destination real estate with The Weber Co and Hosted by the Webers. Together, we unpack the intricacies of leadership, discussing how a clear vision, mission, and values are paramount, and why embracing collaboration and feedback propels businesses forward.

Navigating the fine line between personal growth and the demands of entrepreneurship can feel like walking a tightrope, especially when family life joins the circus. I open up about parenting philosophies that encourage children's independence, while also wrestling with maintaining our own identities through life's seismic shifts. The episode provides a candid look at the art of juggling these roles, finding solidarity in the shared experiences of feeling lost, and celebrating the transformative power of change.

Relationships and personal growth are the heartbeats of our journey, and in this episode, we explore how they shape us. From the contrasting styles of hospitality across different regions to the profound importance of a supportive network during life's tumultuous rides, this conversation is a treasure trove of insights. Prepare to be moved by our stories of entrepreneurship, parenthood, and the occasional fear of success, all wrapped up with a heartfelt reflection on the power of gratitude. Join us for a conversation that's as enlightening as it is heartwarming, and don't forget to catch the Stacked Keys podcast for stories that resonate with the trials and triumphs of everyday life.

Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

I am super excited to welcome Steph Weber today. I cannot wait to get in to all the things possible, and so I welcome you, steph.

Speaker 2: 0:13

Well, thank you. I'm so excited to be here as well. I'm excited to chat with your audience and share all the things. So I'm excited to see where the conversation goes.

Speaker 1: 0:21

Sounds great. Let's start out by saying Steph, how would people describe you, both professionally and personally?

Speaker 2: 0:31

That's a great question. To start with, professionally, I would say that people would tell you I am a go-getter, I'm extremely driven and I move very quickly. That's what I would say professionally. Personally, I would say people would tell you I'm very loyal, I'm very driven and I get things done and I make what I, the vision that I have in my mind. I make it possible come hell or high water. That's what anyone would tell you.

Speaker 1: 1:00

So there you go and, driven, seems to come up in both professional and personal.

Speaker 2: 1:07

Yes, yes it does, Because it's definitely a common thread.

Speaker 1: 1:10

Yeah, all right. So what do you do?

Speaker 2: 1:13

professionally. So I am the CEO of two different businesses the Weber Co and hosted by the Wevers. The Weber Co is my branding and marketing agency that I have been running for the last four years now. At this point, that business is shifting right now and is shifting into a specific niche. So for the last four years I've really supported entrepreneurs from the service-based, product-based and network marketing industry. So I've done a little bit of everything.

Speaker 2: 1:43

I have a 10-year background in fashion and branding and marketing and that perspective and buying and so on and so forth. And then I built my own business and have worked with chiropractic offices, I've worked with wellness centers, I've worked with travel agents I mean just a number of different clients in different industries, which has been awesome. And now I'm pivoting into the short-term rental space, which is where the second business comes into play as well. So my husband and I purchased our first Airbnb property this year, something that we've wanted to get into for a long time, and in getting into that space, we knew we wanted to have our own properties and also co-host and manage other properties. So it's what we do through hosted by the Weber's, we manage and co-host as well as have our own. And then the Weber Co will support from a branding design and marketing perspective.

Speaker 2: 2:35

So we're really in the business of creating destination properties, properties that give guests and out of this world five-star worthy experience, and we help our short-term rental owners maximize their profits when we're managing their properties or when we're designing, so my businesses work very well, well together, and I do still support clients in the small business world. So I feel like I'm wearing a lot of different hats right now, which is fun and crazy. But yeah, that's the long, a little bit long-winded answer for you.

Speaker 1: 3:06

That's fantastic. But, wow, you are busy and shifting those hats. But they all have that element of people involved and so in service. So have you always had that kind of nature of you want to serve and you want to put something out there that's worthy? Is that part of who you are?

Speaker 2: 3:31

Yeah, it really is. I mean, even when I was in high school, I was on the board of our National Student Council convention that was hosted at our high school. So in 2010, I was the registration chair for NASC, which was the National Student Council convention that was hosted at our high school, and delegates from all 50 states came. So I was responsible for all of the registration, which was very involved, very involved in an in-depth process, but it was cool because I served on the steering committee with my peers and other students and we brought a really beautiful convention to life at our high school, which was such an honor being in a in small town, indiana, to be able to host this. So, yeah, I mean, I've always had that and I've always been in leadership roles. So, you know, from being the dance captain in my show choir to that role, to being the VP of recruitment for my sorority, to being a general manager for the boutique that I worked for, you know, leadership and serving and working with others has always been in my DNA.

Speaker 1: 4:35

So what makes a good leader?

Speaker 2: 4:39

I would say that a great leader is also a great follower and also a great collaborator. So in order to lead well, you also have to learn how to follow and I struggled with that for a period of time which is you know, you were fine when you develop your leadership skills over time and you also have to be able to stand strongly in your convictions and stand strong for what you believe in and what you're working toward, you know. So, as a leader, as a CEO, it's important for me that when I'm bringing on team members, they're in alignment with our vision and our mission, our values, and that they uphold those within the work that they're doing, and then we're on the same page. You know again, I think leaders are people who are open to listening and open to feedback and open to doing things a different way. So that's short, kind of a short answer, but that's what.

Speaker 1: 5:31

I would say Well, I'm sure that it varies too from what you're talking about, whether you know a high school level or whether you're being a leader in with your peers. I mean, you're playing in some big fields, and if you're going to destination kind of real estate, that can become quite demanding, where that idea of the customer's right can play pretty pretty much in your daily life. I think, couldn't it?

Speaker 2: 6:06

Yeah, yeah, yes, it definitely can, and you have to be mindful of that. But again, this is why I leverage in my business now. I leverage my branding and marketing background and my customer service experience and sales experience in order to set the expectation for what they're going to get out of their stays or out of their travels, etc. From the beginning, and it has resulted usually in great guests thus far.

Speaker 1: 6:30

So yeah, yeah. So what's like your ideal great place to go. So you have to do some of that homework too, I imagine.

Speaker 2: 6:41

Yeah Well, my husband and I have a dream of living on a lake in the mountains somewhere. That's sort of that's sort of our big dream. So we, we are very much outdoor nature people. So anywhere where we can be outside and hike and be on the lake, if we can be, or skiing, or just being able to breathe the fresh air, that's, that's our jam. So we lived in Phoenix for a period of time. We really enjoyed that. We camped on top of our forerunner in a rooftop tent.

Speaker 2: 7:10

So we visited a number of different national parks during our time out there. Then we had a baby and we moved back to Indiana. So but yeah, I mean our goal in a few years is to be able to sell our current home that we live in by a camper and travel the states with our two little boys and be able to show them what adventure and nature and life looks like outside of just the walls of our home.

Speaker 1: 7:35

Yeah, so you're also balancing that the motherhood with all of these businesses, and I heard something the other day that there is no such thing as balance, that it's business takes the lead one day, home takes it the next. So what's, what's your feeling on that?

Speaker 2: 7:58

I don't, I don't know that. I think when we hear the word balance, we hear even 50, 50 balance, right. And that is not the case when you are running multiple businesses and also have multiple kiddos, especially when they're toddlers, right. But what I usually tell people is for me, my kiddos always come first. So if there's a need for them, if they're like, if they need something, if they're sick, if they are with me, they have my attention and I am. I am with them. That being said, we do send our toddler to daycare. He goes to a Montessori school, and then we have care for our four month old during the day, who is home with me so I can still interact with him throughout the day, and so forth. So you have to have a team, right. You have to have a team of people that's supporting you and that loves your babies, like you love your babies and understand what your own definition of balance looks like.

Speaker 2: 8:51

And for me, I feel very fulfilled when I get to work in my career and then also be a mom, and so it's just. You know what does that look like? And for me, that looks like being able to send them to school during the day so that I can work and be undivided with my attention there, and then being able to be home in the evenings as a family eating dinner and doing bath time, and we have like an elaborate 30 minute bedtime routine and I love it, it's the best. So we create those special memories that way, and then obviously we spend weekends together as a family too. So that's what it looks like right now. That you know. Of course we'll shift and change and evolve as they grow, but that's why I think I have this camper vision is for us to be able to my husband to be able to take time away, or take a year away from a nine to five desk job because that's what he does and go and experience what our nation has to offer for our boys.

Speaker 1: 9:43

Well, having goals. That's how you wind up. Accomplishing them is to have them and then work toward them. But it sounds like you probably have done a lot of homework and research in how you're constructing your life, because Montessori doesn't just fall in your lap. You probably had to make that decision. So take me down that road of making choices like that, and maybe everybody doesn't know what Montessori is. So I kind of go down that road.

Speaker 2: 10:13

So I think for me this comes back to actually my decision to go to Butler University, which is where I went to school to get my degree in PR and advertising. And then I made that decision. My parents were filing bankruptcy on a business that they had owned and also filing personal bankruptcy, so they did not have funds to be able to send me to school. So I worked three jobs to put myself through school because I knew that Butler was the education that I wanted and I knew it was the school that I wanted to go to. And so every decision that I make is is this decision getting us to the vision that we have for our life, the vision that we have for our family, and is it the best choice that we feel makes sense? And so the decision for the Montessori school was we kind of looked at what are our options when it comes to care, when it comes to a school setting or a daycare setting for our son, and what's going to make most sense for us. And I knew that I wanted our boys to very much be individuals. I knew I wanted them to be able to do things on their own. I knew I wanted them to have really essential life skills and feel like they could handle doing things by themselves, and that was a really important component of just everything for me.

Speaker 2: 11:27

So that was the intention behind the Montessori school and I'm I know I'm not sharing everything that they they do within that, but I know we get pictures and it's Eli wearing an apron, pouring water from a pitcher into a bowl so that he can wash his hands and wash the dishes, and I'm like it's such a simple life skill, but he comes home and he does that here, so he's learning how to be independent and he's learning like. We got a picture yesterday and it said Eli practicing his new favorite activity for his first work of the day, and it's Eli spreading jelly on a cracker with a butter knife. And so he does that here at home. He wants to spread his butter on his waffles in the morning and that's fine. Like we want you to be able to do things on your own and we want you to feel like you you can do that. So definitely teaching them a level of independence that I think is important.

Speaker 1: 12:18

Yeah Well, it sounds like maybe you had some independence of your own coming up, so is this something kind of ingrained in you? I mean that transition of your parents, I mean you. You still had to take that ball and run with it.

Speaker 2: 12:33

Yeah, yeah, I mean, I guess, I guess it probably is. I've always been quite independent. I mean I even teaching myself how to ride a bike. My parents would try to teach me but then they would let go and I would freak out and it wasn't great. And one day I was like I'm going to figure this out. And I was eight and I remember taking my bike. It was Father's Day weekend. I took my bike out into the cold sack in our neighborhood and I got on that bike and I was like I'm going to learn how to do this today. And so I did it and I did it myself.

Speaker 2: 12:57

And then I told my parents later I was like I figured out how to ride my bike, so I've always been that way, which is maybe why it's important for me, with our boys too. But I also feel like that level of independence or having that skill, and it also allows you to understand how to speak up for yourself and how to speak up for what you want and what you believe in, and so you know. Taking you back to the decision for me to go to school at Butler, I could have very easily said oh well, my parents don't have the money to send me here, so all all settle for this other school.

Speaker 3: 13:29

That I don't really want to go to, but you know it'll get me a degree and that's fine.

Speaker 2: 13:33

That's not what I wanted, so yeah.

Speaker 1: 13:37

Have you ever lost you in in life and kind of just step aside and let somebody put either their feelings or or kind of their take on you and you lost maybe who you were in a moment?

Speaker 2: 13:54

Sure, I think when you're building a business, it's easy to do that, especially when you're working intimately with clients in the way that I do and you're building brands and businesses and marketing strategies for your clients. Sometimes your clients don't always agree with the way that you're doing something, and so then there's backlash or whatever it may be, and I've absolutely know that there's been times where I've taken that on and I really have to check in with myself on what I believe in and what I'm doing and the way that I'm leading, and remember that this is my business, that I'm working to craft and cultivate. And just because the marketing strategy that I'm teaching doesn't make sense for one business doesn't mean it doesn't make sense for another, right, so that's okay. If it doesn't work for that client, they should go and find someone that is going to teach something that makes sense for them, and that's okay. That's why there's so many of us that do various different things and have different skill sets.

Speaker 2: 14:42

So I think, yes, but I think other times where I feel like I maybe lost myself a little bit has been right after I've had my kiddos. So each time that I've gone through, I have two boys, and so each of those times that I've gone through pregnancy, I feel like I've lost myself a little bit then, and also lost myself a little bit maybe right after their birth, but then usually something amazing happens and I pivot or I shift or whatever it may be. So it's like you know. I also believe that we just have different seasons where we're rediscovering and reconnecting to what we want and what we want to create.

Speaker 1: 15:14

Yeah, that different seasons, I mean it can come in just over a matter of years or even within the same year or decades. You kind of evolved quite a bit from graduation to now and had lots of client experiences and you've pivoted quite a bit. So is there a mentor that you kind of connected with? Do you believe in mentorship, or has that played out in your life at all?

Speaker 2: 15:44

Yeah, I've had a number of different mentors over the years who have been super beneficial most of the time, which I absolutely do believe in mentors and in mentorship. I believe in coaching absolutely. I also think that there's a time and a place for it. Right now, I'm not in a season where I'm necessarily being coached. My husband and I are in a program for our short term rental investment side of what we're doing, but from a marketing perspective and a branding perspective, I feel like I have those components down. I currently am working just with a VA, so I don't necessarily have a team right now. So I'm just in a different season. When it comes to mentorship and what I need and that's what I think is important to recognize, what is it that you're looking for in mentorship and is it really a mentor that you're looking for or is it someone to do work for you? Because those are two different very different.

Speaker 1: 16:34

Yeah, you really do have to sit down and assess and reassess. So have you found yourself reassessing Like you thought you were headed in the right direction, straight down, and then you were like oops and had to kind of turn.

Speaker 2: 16:51

I think anytime you start a business, it's easy for you to find yourself on a path like that. You're like, okay, I'm starting down this path and this is what we're going to do forever. I mean, it's like my very first job when I was 17,. I was working for a boutique, a prom dress boutique here in Indianapolis, and also they had a line of women's everyday clothing as well, and I thought that that was it, like that was the job I was going to have for the rest of my life. So I worked there from the time I was 17 to the time I was 23, when I finally had the guts to put in my two weeks and say I'm going to go a different direction. But that was really.

Speaker 2: 17:25

That was a really difficult choice for me to make, thinking that I was walking out of college, which I did. I mean, I walked out of school and I worked for them for maybe two, maybe it was two years after school. I graduated in 2015 and I think I left in 2017. So maybe I was 24. But anyway, besides the point, I had to make that decision at that time and had previously thought this is all by the business at some point in time. This is where I'll work forever, but once you get into it, you have to you grow as a human, and your business, or whatever it is that you're doing, has to be able to grow with you, and so, for me, I've been a branding and marketing agency for all different types of entrepreneurs, and that worked really well and served me well for a period of time until it didn't and it didn't because I was being led into this short-term rental industry, and I very much believe that. So I'm always being mindful of what is the next step and what makes most sense.

Speaker 1: 18:25

Well, entrepreneurs are hard to work with, so trying to kind of figure that out, that can be a roller coaster. What advice would you hand that entrepreneur? What did you start out with? So like, okay, here's our first meeting. What are you going to say to that entrepreneur? Are you going to ask for a business plan right off the bat?

Speaker 2: 18:52

I don't know, because when you get into it you often don't know what your full plan is. I'm very vision-driven, so I can see what my bigger vision is and I can see what my goal is, both for me personally and then also for my business and then also for my clients. That's typically where I lead from, but I actually. It's so funny that you're asking this question because we're working on a project that we were trying to bring to life, which would be a multi-cabin, more or less short-term rental neighborhood on a really popular lake in the Midwest and in the rolling hills. It will also be an event space and a retreat space and it will be beautiful. But we're going to a bank for financing and I actually put a business proposal together.

Speaker 2: 19:33

I was like, wow, this is the first time I've had to put a business proposal together and not just been able to fly by the seat of my pants but just be led by my intuition, what I know is possible, but have numbers and data and the plan of how we're going to market and so on and so forth, to be able to present somebody else for financing. But I haven't had to deal with that in the past because my business has been self-funded and is debt-free, and so I've been able to do that. But as you're building real estate, it's a little bit more difficult to do that. Aside from just I've been coaching and consulting, I really don't have much overhead, aside from the team that I had previously and then decided to pivot and decided I needed to let my team go in order for me to make that pivot so I could figure it out during that time, and that's sort of where we're at, so are you super proud of yourself for being able to put that together?

Speaker 2: 20:29

Yeah, yeah, it definitely felt good. It was a little bit difficult because I wanted it to be presented in a way that A made sense but B showed the bank the potential and opportunity of what we're seeing and what we know is possible. So I wanted to make sure that that vision was clearly communicated. So it was fun. I will feel even more proud when the bank comes back to us and says we're good to go, let's get rolling.

Speaker 1: 20:55

So are you a perfectionist.

Speaker 2: 20:58

I would not say that. No, I would say that I definitely don't let that get in the way. I'll put something together that's not necessarily perfect and get it out, because I believe that done is better than perfect, and getting something out into the world for you to be able to shift and adjust as needed is better than spending hours on something, or spending weeks or days or years on something and not taking any action. I think that perfectionism often can be correlated with inaction, and perfectionism can be one of those traps that I see entrepreneurs fall into who are procrastinating because they're unclear or they're not sure of what their next steps are or if it's going to work, or the fear is blocking them. So I often find like perfectionism as a result of something else that's going on.

Speaker 1: 21:49

Oh, wow, that's an interesting way to look at it, and so do you have specific go-tos that you can get beyond that?

Speaker 2: 22:00

For me, if I'm recognizing that I am trying to make something perfect, or if I'm procrastinating a project, I usually will ask myself why? And just say, ok, why is it that I don't want to do this project? Like, what is it that I'm not connected to here? And that's usually what it is. For me, it's that I'm not connected to the work that I'm doing, or it's work that I don't feel I need to be doing or want to be doing. So I'm just really mindful of the clients that I take on, the work that I say yes to, and so forth.

Speaker 1: 22:29

Yeah, so, in working with the clients, do you have a? You work with lots of different types of companies. Do you have one you like more than others? Do you like the?

Speaker 2: 22:45

No, I really don't. I really don't because I have enjoyed working. I've enjoyed it being creative in different ways in different industries. Now, that being said, the reason that I chose to pivot into the short-term rental space, specifically with my business, is because I enjoy traveling, I enjoy guest experience and I enjoy marketing and being able to do those things in a specific niche. That makes sense for me. It was very exciting. So that was the decision to sort of pivot into that space. But when I look at my past, I don't have a business that stands out in my mind as being like oh, that was my favorite industry to work with, because they're all a little bit different and really my favorite thing to do is help a business create a brand that is very true for them, that is very aligned for them and that I know is going to make a difference, and that's more the driving factor than the types of businesses that I support.

Speaker 1: 23:35

Yeah, and you're pretty involved in social media and have quite a brand presence in your own. Is that something that you came naturally for you, or do you have to work at that? Or is it just something but you kind of came along when the electronic media was quite the medium to be involved in, but you have to work at it. Does it just drive you nuts sometimes?

Speaker 2: 24:06

I think social media drives all of us a little bit nuts sometimes. I mean, it's definitely a love-hate relationship, but when I really think about what social media is, it's designed to be social media, so it's designed for us to be able to connect. I mean, I wouldn't be sitting on this podcast right now without it, and there are so many different experiences that I could say I've had over the last several years that I would not be sitting in rooms with or be connected to the people that I am if it weren't for Instagram or if it weren't for this specific Facebook group or whatever it may be. So I think it's a love-hate relationship in that it can sometimes be a really toxic place and, again, when you're using it you just have to be super mindful. But it is something that comes naturally and easily to me.

Speaker 2: 24:47

I don't really know that I can explain why, but I've danced since I was three, so I've been on stage and I've performed for lack of better terms since I was that young age. But I also remember sitting as a sophomore in college in one of our core classes for my major and it was STR 222. And I remember sitting in this course and talking about branding and really understanding the concept of building a story and building a brand and what it means to have a customer or a consumer or a client connect to your brand and be loyal to that, and I just really latched onto that. So being able to leverage that understanding and that deep knowledge to build my brand online has been hugely beneficial.

Speaker 1: 25:34

Oh yeah, I mean you're building trust, yeah, so trust must be something pretty important to you.

Speaker 2: 25:41

Yeah, trust is huge. From a client perspective, from anyone that I'm connecting to or doing business with, it's absolutely crucial, and trust is the reason that people are choosing to make a buying decision right. They're not buying from you if they don't trust you. That's for sure.

Speaker 1: 25:55

Yeah, actually, they can cut you off, delete you and get away from you. Probably better today than any time. Yeah, so are you where you thought you'd be when you went out for that marketing degree for that Brandy? Not where you thought you'd be.

Speaker 2: 26:13

No, I'm not where I thought I would be. I mean, when I went to Butler for my PR and advertising degree, I thought I would be working for that boutique for my life and I would buy the business at some point in time and fashion was going to be in my blood. And that was not. That was not the direction that life had in store for me. But I have always had this entrepreneurial driven spirit and I think that I was afraid of that for a long time because of what my parents experienced. My dad was an entrepreneur, so that small business closed and not put this lock in my head around entrepreneurship. I mean, my husband and I have been together for almost 15 years and so we were high school sweethearts. We met well, we met in middle school, but we started dating when I was 15 and when I was 18 and all of that was happening with my family. I remember saying to him I am never going to be an entrepreneur. I am never doing that.

Speaker 2: 27:06

I'm never putting my family in that position, so on and so forth, but what you have to remember is that the story of your parents, or whoever, isn't your story and I had to do a lot of work around that in order to remind myself and remember that was that's what happened to them, as a result of a number of different things, both circumstances they could and can't and could not control, but I am a different human being than they are and I also have a different story.

Speaker 1: 27:35

Yeah, you have a different toolbox too. I mean, that's something that, from generation to generation, you hopefully improve on. What are you most proud of?

Speaker 2: 27:50

I think I would say I'm most proud of being able to find a way to say yes when it feels like the world is like no, this is not for you. Butler is a starting example of that, and it seemed like all signs pointed to Butler is not going to work out, and I was like I'm, because this is where I'm going to school and I know I'm meant to be here and I will figure it out. I think other examples have been when I've started my business or when I have decided that I wanted to make my leap into full time entrepreneurship. It was the beginning of 2020. And I remember I created a vision board that year. There were two specific things on it that I remember One was to get pregnant that year and another was to make my salary in my business that I was making in my full time job.

Speaker 2: 28:38

And March of 2020, we all know what happened in that month and I kind of looked at that vision board and I was like how is this going to be possible this year? I don't know how this is going to come to life. A few weeks later, I found a mentor who I connected to very easily, and I remember her sales associate telling me if you join this program and you do the work, you are going to leave your full time job sooner than you think. And I was like you think I'll leave it by the end of the year. And she was like, absolutely. So I came into that program, I did the work, I followed the process and I left my full time job in 90 days.

Speaker 2: 29:17

So, oh, and again during 2020 and right after right, right before I left my full time job, right? Well, no, this is before I. Just I made the decision and I told my current employers at the time that I would be leaving and gave them time in order for us to make a transition. And two weeks after I told them I was leaving and pursuing full time entrepreneurship, we found out we were pregnant with our first baby.

Speaker 2: 29:41

There, you go Vision board Wild time. But you know, again it's like all signs especially in March of 2020, pointed to. Nothing is going to go the way that you think it's going to go this year and it didn't. But it was for. It was for the best, it worked out in the way that it was supposed to work out. So, figuring out a way to say yes.

Speaker 1: 30:01

But when you're jumping in, even every day, it can be so hard to come home and to work and to be working for yourself and not to let other people or things get in the way. Did you struggle with that? Did you have days where you were like what did I do?

Speaker 2: 30:20

I think every entrepreneur has days like that. So yes.

Speaker 2: 30:23

I mean, I absolutely do and absolutely. I absolutely did and absolutely still do. I think on those days again, you have to go back to why are you doing this? And you know, is this circumstance that you're in right now worth pursuing the vision that you have? Or is it worth it to go find a job that's very safe and secure? Nine to five, you know what your salary is gonna be. Every single week they have to pay you. There's a legal obligation for a 1K benefit, your health benefits, all the things.

Speaker 2: 30:55

And I don't know, maybe it's just that I prefer to live on the wild side of entrepreneurship. I'm not sure, but you know, this past year, this past year, our business, my business, has experienced so much change and I remember in May, after having our son, I just felt like what am I even doing? And that's when my whole shift started into the short-term rental industry. So you know, again, it's every season. Even those hard seasons or those hard days, are designed to be able to show you something or lead you to your next place of where you're meant to go, and I just, at this point, learned how to have full faith and full trust in that. So, even on my hard days, I always say I have full faith, I have full trust, I have full faith, I have full trust and I just have to continue to pursue.

Speaker 1: 31:42

I was gonna ask do you have some methodology that you can apply when you're having those days or something you turn to, or?

Speaker 2: 31:51

Typically something I turn to would be meditation or just getting outside and walking, taking a break, walking away from it for a minute, journaling, just trying to see things in a different way. But I have full faith, I have full trust. It's definitely been a lot of trust.

Speaker 1: 32:06

Yeah, there you go, repeat, repeat. So yeah, because that can be tough. And then you've got the kids, and then you've got the spouse, and then you've got those obligations, even if everybody's all bought in. And it sounds like your husband's bought in because he's a part of it with you, yes, he has no other options.

Speaker 2: 32:29

Yeah no option, but he is. He is the most supportive person in my life, for sure.

Speaker 2: 32:37

I mean the friends that I have, my family. They're all supportive. But my husband is in it with me every day and he understands when I have to work at night and so he'll take the kiddos or he does the dishes. I mean, he definitely is the one who does more of the like around the house type things. He does all of our cooking. He does all of our grocery shopping. He'll pick up the laundry when I can't do it. He's very hands on with our boys. So we're a very good team in the way that we support one another. But I think that that comes from the fact that we've known each other, for so we've known each other for so long. Yeah, we've grown up together.

Speaker 1: 33:11

Yeah, but a lot of times people can grow up together and grow separately, like grow apart instead of together. Did y'all, were you conscious of that, or did just happen?

Speaker 2: 33:25

I think we're conscious of it. But you know, we went to different colleges and for us that was a really important decision because we want it. We are our own individual people. So, like I, well, our friend groups now are kind of interesting because the best man and maid of honor who are who from our wedding best man being Collins best friend, who I actually knew in elementary school as well, but the maid of honor being my best friend from college are married now. So our groups are very intermixed.

Speaker 2: 33:53

But you know, when we made the decision to go to different colleges, we did it because we knew that our I knew I wanted a college, a small college experience, I knew what degree I wanted and I knew I needed to be able to work at the boutique still. So I needed to make a decision to be closer to that and closer to home. And he went to Purdue for engineering because that was the degree he was pursuing. And also we wanted to have our own experiences. Like he has a whole great friend group from Purdue we're actually going to one of his friends' lake houses this weekend from Purdue and I have my friends and we had our own experiences.

Speaker 2: 34:27

You know, I studied abroad and I had an internship in New York City, so like we lived our life and we stayed together throughout that whole time because, again, we trusted one another and we also just wanted to be our own individual people and have those experiences that weren't just one another all the time and that's sort of I mean, it's not how our marriage is all the time, but like we're okay to do things separately. We don't feel the need to text each other all day long while we're at work or you know, even if I go on a girls trip.

Speaker 2: 34:56

He'll be like okay, I don't really have a great time and I'll call and check on the kiddos and whatever, but, like we, just we understand how to be individuals and also how to have a marriage together and work together to be supportive of one another.

Speaker 1: 35:10

That's phenomenal and I think a lot of people that's where they lose themselves is that they don't know how to do that. And then it becomes the roles get all mixed up and then you get pretty unhappy. So you seem like you're really happy. Are there any obstacles that have like just smacked you that you did boulders in the middle, that it's hard to get around?

Speaker 2: 35:33

I think I used to look at obstacles in that way, but now I look at I mean sure, I face obstacles every day as an entrepreneur and especially managing properties. Right, when you have a guest that's unhappy or you have something that happens, you have to figure out how to deal with it. But I just always not always. I, over the last few years, have learned that most things in life are solvable problems and it's just being able to have your emotion and live in that for a minute and be angry or be sad or be mad or whatever it might be, and then say, okay, what is the way around this? Like, here's this roadblock, what are the possible solutions or the possible scenarios, the ways that this could actually go?

Speaker 2: 36:21

So I'm definitely a bit of an optimist, which probably helps me in my role as an entrepreneur. My husband balances me out as the more pessimistic one. However, he definitely. The more I do this and the more that I share my vision with him, he's like this whole camper life. Then he's like I can get behind this, okay, okay, I see what you're trying to do, I understand it and he's supportive.

Speaker 1: 36:44

So there you go, so can you tell when you need to have an adventure?

Speaker 2: 36:52

Yeah, I can, but it's usually when I haven't had a chance to travel for a while. So, like right now, I haven't had a chance to travel anywhere since February. Obviously we had a baby in between then and now and I am itching to go and do something and just be outside and explore. But that's coming, it's coming and right now we're in a season with the kiddos where it's just it's demanding in the season that we're in and that's okay. It won't be like that forever. It's definitely temporary. So we have plans to go out and visit my brother in Denver in February and that will be nice to do some skiing with him. But right now I'm enjoying growing our businesses and building those.

Speaker 1: 37:32

Yeah, and you said you lived in Phoenix and there's so much at your fingertips. In Phoenix you can go a little bit north in your in mountains and a whole different temperature and you go out into the desert, and so do you find that where you are as well.

Speaker 2: 37:49

So in Indianapolis there's not a lot of adventure. In the Midwest there's a lot of cornfields, but the work post is some hiking kind of. Again, we just really haven't had an opportunity to do that a lot with our little one. He's only four months old, yeah, four months old. So it's just a different life for us right now but that will change eventually.

Speaker 1: 38:17

Yeah, you're just getting in the swing of things with having the two instead of one.

Speaker 2: 38:23

And our family's in Indiana, so it makes it easy for us to be able to have grandparents around, and the boys love that too. I mean, our son goes and spends four days a month with grandparents at their farm and lives his best life down there.

Speaker 1: 38:41

So how'd you learn how to be a parent? Where's your? Where are your parenting skills and your thoughts coming from?

Speaker 2: 38:52

I would say a lot of it is my mom and dad. My mom very much being the like caretaker, always making sure that we had what we needed and always making sure that we felt loved. My dad is the same way they always make, always made sure that we felt loved, but also always pushed us, not in a bad way, but just like, wanted us, wanted the best for us always. And I think you know I'm the firstborn, so I'm very type A, a cheaper, and not that my brother's not, he is, but he. We're just different. We're just a little bit the way that we operate is a little bit different, but we're both still very like, we're both loyal, we're both very caring, we're both very considerate and kind of others and I think that that definitely comes from the way that I was raised Also could be part of just being like in the Midwest.

Speaker 2: 39:42

There is something to be said about who's your hospitality, and even when I lived in New York City for a period of time, people would say you're not from here, are you Not? I'm not from New York. No, how can you tell? Am I pleased and thank you in the way I hold the door open for people. It's actually same with Phoenix. We you know here in Indianapolis and we're in the summer, but people talk to one another at the grocery store and you say hi to your neighbors and you say hi to strangers that you don't know. People don't do that in Phoenix. So we would start conversations with people at the grocery and they would be like we just look at us, like who are you?

Speaker 1: 40:18

My guest was in Phoenix for a little while and I would say, okay, ask somebody who their mechanic is. And they would say, well, it depends on what's wrong with your car. Wait, you don't have a relationship. I mean, we're into relationships here and I don't care what's wrong with it, you'll figure it out. They just weren't like that. It was like we have a need, we go to that one person for that one need, Right, and so it's different across the country. So when's the last time you cried? You cried. What stumped you to the point of just tears?

Speaker 2: 41:07

So Happy Tears was on our anniversary, so it was just like a couple of weeks ago, but I think you know this is our. So it was our seventh wedding anniversary and we have been together for 14 and a half years. It'll be 15 years in February of 2024. And I, just we were having a conversation about the boys and our life and I was like we're doing it, like it is happening, and these boys and just you know, the kiddos always give me emotional, sad tears or struggle or frustration. Tears was after I had my son in May, Just feeling like I was felt a little bit out of control, felt like my business was shifting. I didn't have my hands on that. My life was flipped upside down, with a newborn at home and our toddler trying to recover from delivery. So you know, just a number of different things, but yeah, those are the last two, most recent times.

Speaker 1: 42:04

And when you're having those times, are your friends doing about the same thing? Are you finding those peers that you can kind of share with? Sometimes that part of life can seem so very lonely. As you're a young adult, so are you able to network with friends and kind of experience the same type of things?

Speaker 2: 42:33

Yeah, sure, I have a really awesome friend growth, and we're very much in similar seasons of life and we all have our own unique challenges, right, so we will have our wine nights and share with one another and we've always just been supportive. But these are friends that I've had for 10 last years since college, so we have really close relationships and we've been through a lot of life together, so it's nice to be able to connect with one another on those challenges for sure.

Speaker 1: 42:58

Yeah, yeah, when you've got some history there. But you wind up in some of these places that are a little more lonely. What's your rock, what's your anchor?

Speaker 2: 43:14

I'm not sure about that one. I guess I would say that my anchor probably is my husband more than anything. But I also feel like I anchor myself pretty well, like I've learned how to work through my own emotions and how to be able to support myself and help myself when I need to, or how to be able to reach out for help when I know I need that too. But I would say, yeah, my husband is an anchor, my friends are an anchor also.

Speaker 1: 43:47

Well, that's pretty strong stuff to be able to find it within yourself. That takes practice.

Speaker 2: 43:56

It does take practice. I would not have been able to say that probably three years ago. But I've gotten to a point where I don't seek validation from others, like I kind of just go through the process and I go and I do, and I have learned how to figure things out on my own and be able to process and give myself the time and the space to do that too.

Speaker 1: 44:19

Wow, that, to me that's the definition of strength to be able to kind of dig deep where you need to and pivot when you need to and then be vulnerable when you need to. That probably makes you pretty good at working with entrepreneurs, because you kind of know their ebbs and flows and you feel them as well.

Speaker 2: 44:43

I know their ebbs and flows and I also know when they are putting on a mask of I don't wanna do this because I don't feel like doing it, and it's like what's the deeper reason? And then there's fear, and there's, I mean, really fear, fear of success, fear of failure, fear that they're gonna let somebody down, whatever it may be, and so I have definitely learned how to work with entrepreneurs from the perspective of are you not taking action because you're afraid, or are you not taking action because you feel lost in something or because you need additional clarity? What's the difference here?

Speaker 1: 45:19

So how fascinating to say fear of success. Yeah, it's real though. Yeah, I really hadn't thought about that, but yeah.

Speaker 2: 45:29

Fear of how good something can be. For some of my clients, that fear of success comes from being successful and feeling like it's gonna be taken away from them. They've reached levels of success previously and then they've been asked for money from family members or they've lost money here or wherever it may be. So that piece of success I think it can be scary. I also think fear of success for some entrepreneurs is like wow, when I'm successful, that means that I have really strong beliefs and I share those and people are gonna disagree and what will people think of that? So I think there's a number of things that tie into it, but it is definitely a real fear for many entrepreneurs.

Speaker 1: 46:14

Yeah, that's interesting. I think that's a real fear for moms too, because you're in this I don't know kind of a game with what your children are and what your peers are and how they function, and then if you're successful, then everybody looks kind of towards you and you're just putting one foot in front of the other, but you get judged. So that's. I guess that plays into every aspect. Yeah, yeah, what would you tell that 15 year old self of what's coming, what you need, what you ought to pay attention to?

Speaker 2: 47:00

I think I would probably tell her to have more faith and trust from the get go. I definitely, as I've grown, I look back on times where I didn't understand that something was happening for a reason that was actually designed for me, but felt like things were happening to me Instead of okay, there's a reason that this is happening, so just let it play out in the way that it's gonna play out, but continue to walk with full faith and full trust as you're doing that. But I really do believe that we grow for a reason and we have learning lessons for a reason. So I could look back on everything that happened with my mom and dad and my whole experience around Butler and say, well, I wish I would have been different or I wish I would have chosen differently, and I really don't. I really just look back and see that everything has. That whole experience taught me how to work for what I wanted. That taught me how to fight for what I wanted, and that has served me very well in what I do today.

Speaker 1: 48:01

Yeah, you have a strength that comes across both in your platforms and then just in talking to you, and it's this I don't know confidence that there's been some hard knocks along the way, but just a true confidence, not a mask, as you were talking about earlier. So what's your idea of maybe a good surprise? If life was going to surprise you with something, what do you think would be a good one for you?

Speaker 2: 48:38

Ooh, a good surprise.

Speaker 2: 48:42

Huh, I don't know that I have one big surprise, because I feel like it's not a surprise if it's something that you know that you're pursuing right. Like I could easily sit here and say, well, it'd be great if life surprised me with a lake house, but I don't feel like that's going to be a surprise because that's something that we're working towards, like that's something I know we will have at some point in time when it makes sense for us. So I think the surprises are found in the everyday moments, like when our son does something and he goes I did it, mama, and I didn't expect him to say that that day, right. Or this weekend we're taking him up to this friend's lake house and he doesn't know we're doing it and I know that when we get there he is going to be shocked and love the boat, and so it's like those moments that I think are so special. Or surprises and trips. If my husband surprised me with a trip, that would be the best thing to happen, but he's not the planner I am, obviously.

Speaker 2: 49:39

So, you know, we'll see if that ever happens, but do we really love it if he surprises?

Speaker 1: 49:44

Yeah right, I don't know, maybe not.

Speaker 2: 49:48

But I have a dream to surprise our kiddos with a trip to Disney someday, and you know. So I think I'm maybe more the creator of surprises and being able to provide those experiences for our kiddos or for friends, or whatever it may be.

Speaker 1: 50:03

Yeah, you sound like it's the moments and the experiences, not the things but, those moments that kind of make up your whole fabric. What place would you go back to tomorrow if you could Phoenix?

Speaker 2: 50:20

hands down, but not just Phoenix. I think I would go back, because it was so close to so many different national parks and you cannot beat the winters out there in Phoenix, I mean they are beautiful and the summers they're hot, but we have hot human days here in Indianapolis too, that are miserable. So you know at least, out there you have the hot days, but it's a dry heat and it really is different. So I would go back, yeah that's funny.

Speaker 1: 50:50

The only real problem we had with Phoenix is the dogs weren't real crazy about not having grass.

Speaker 2: 50:58

I'm sure that's true.

Speaker 1: 50:59

Tori had green spaces in her neighborhood and so you know she'd take them to that. But we live on a lot of property and so it's kind of like they get the gallop around here. I said gallop because she has a really large dog, but that was the thing. But they actually get more attention probably.

Speaker 2: 51:22

Yep.

Speaker 1: 51:23

Because you had to leash them and go places, and so you know it's kind of funny. Whatever our limitations are, you wind up having something nice on the other side of it, uh-huh. So we've talked about a whole lot of stuff. Is there something, maybe, that we haven't touched on, that you might like to touch?

Speaker 2: 51:45

Gosh, I feel like we've touched on so much. This has been such an awesome episode. No, I'm excited for your listeners to hear and excited to connect with them as well.

Speaker 1: 51:53

Well, that's great. So how do people get in touch with you?

Speaker 2: 51:59

You can follow us on the Weber Co on Instagram. Instagram is probably the best place to connect, so the Weber Co you can follow us on hosted by the Weberers on Instagram as well, and we'd love for you to send a DM. Follow along and I'm excited to connect.

Speaker 1: 52:14

That sounds good. I have one more question for you. If you had a superpower and you had only 24 hours, you can use it personally or professionally. What would you choose? How would you use it? But, more importantly, why would you choose it?

Speaker 2: 52:33

Hmm, I feel like I would if I had a superpower. It would be like wish fulfillment, like a fairy godmother or something. I think that there are so many people that have really incredible dreams and don't get the opportunity to live those dreams out. And so if I could, if I could have a superpower, it would be like to fulfill dreams, to fulfill wishes in some capacity.

Speaker 1: 53:03

I like that. I do like that. This has just been fabulous and I appreciate the time and wish you all the best.

Speaker 2: 53:12

Well, thank you so much. It has been awesome and I appreciate you, and thanks for having me. Thank you, thank you.

Speaker 3: 54:22

Thank you. Thank you Find Stacked Keys podcast on Spotify, SoundCloud, iTunes or anywhere you get your favorite podcast. Listen You'll laugh out loud, cry a little and find yourself encouraged. Join us for casual conversations that leads itself, based on where we take it from family to philosophy, to work to meal prep, toward beautifully surviving life. Thank you.