Episode 115: How to Allow Your Business to Succeed

Think you can't be successful in a pandemic? You'll be right.

Want to be successful even with constraints?

Listen to what one of Lauren's clients did to make their total earnings in 2019 in one month. 

Lauren shares the secret ingredients of her success and what you can do about it in your own business.

Episode 114: Using Your Feels to Resolve Your Blindspots

Feelings... we've all got em. Some feel good, some not so much.

Feeling frustrated because something didn't go your way?  

In today's episode we're talking about how to leverage those icky feeling ones to give us insights on our blindspots.

Say goodbye to the stuck and get ready to move!

Episode 113: Where Are You in Your Pandemic Journey?

We are all trying to do the best with what we have.

After five months of business slumps and changes, it can feel like everything is falling apart. If you’re out of work, it can feel dire. If your business has dipped, it can feel hopeless and frustrating. Even if you have your job, your working environment and downtime has changed. 

Today we’re talking about the three phases of your pandemic journey and how acknowledging where you are in your process can help you.

Episode 112: A Deep Dive with Ashley Powdar, Ruby Sampson

Lauren sits down with the creative force behind Ruby Sampson - a global fashion utility brand for textured-hair women. Hear how Ashley Powdar took the lemons of a botched order and used it to propel her into the next phase of her business and as a business owner.

Subscribe to The SpitFire Podcast at www.spitfirepodcast.com or on Apple Podcast or Spotify.

About Ruby Sampson www.rubysampson.com

Ruby Sampson is a fashion utility brand for textured-hair women. We exist to bring thoughtfully crafted designs to the lifestyle and hair needs of women of color. In 2012 we launched our minimum viable product, the silk-lined headwrap, for women with natural hair who experience chronic dryness and breakage. Ruby Sampson is the namesake of Ashley’s grandmother, who was a seamstress and family matriarch of 8 children in Georgetown, Guyana.

Ashley’s parents immigrated to the United States in the early 1980’s and instilled an unwavering work ethic and sense of gratitude for opportunity. The brand attributes include resilience, ambition, risk, failure, and success: shared pillars of the family’s immigrant passage.

The brand is inspired by and devoted to women of color. We love to play with unconventional textiles and bold prints that introduce a level of utility and sophistication to the customer’s wardrobe. Ruby Sampson caters to the customer’s ambitious nature by reducing the time needed to regain hair health and freeing up resources to refocus energy on causes that matter. Ruby Sampson was officially founded in Washington, DC in 2016 and is a member of The Made In DC Program.

Episode 111: How to Build Trust Remotely

This is Episode 111 and I've listened back to a couple of these episodes. I've looked at the titles to think, you know, what would be changed, if anything and what I was saying and not a lot has changed as far as the things that are most important to us.

These are universal principles that can be adapted in any environment. It's mainly how do we show up in the way that we want to how do we get the best result from The people that are working around us by igniting the best in them.

How do we build trust? How do we communicate? How do we defuse conflict? How do we see and hear people?

Now the way that we're seeing and hearing people are different. It's going to be different for a while. And even when whatever normal comes back, it's going to be different, too. But these are the points and the principles that are going to help us all adjust when these new catalysts of change happen.

So today, we're going to talk about something that came up in my coaching session just before this, and it's talking to all about trust. He is someone who travels a lot every four to six weeks, he is going in an office in his company on in another part of the world. There is a lot of relationship building that's happening in casual water cooler conversations or in networking that's happening outside of the office.

Obviously we can't do that now. We can't pull people aside. We can't have a drink with them. We can't invite them to a meal in a pub or restaurant. We're not necessarily just happening to have casual run ins with people. This is a time where we need to be really intentional and deliberate.

So I wanted to kind of peel back the layers and see where the value is in this casual, organic or serendipitous meeting. Where's the value that this individual is getting?

For him, it came down to building trust to having a human to human connection that gets lost when we're only focused on building agendas. We're not really seeing people, if we're they're just accomplishing tasks and and stating what our objectives are.

This is an opportunity for us to look at how do we go from one extreme and then the other extreme so going from hyper professional and hyper casual what is that in between Let's be honest, we're not wearing our business suits to zoom calls or conference calls, most of us, maybe not, haven't even showered, or hopefully we've brushed our teeth. But we're not showing up in kind of our armor. We're not showing up in this professional attire, that's even giving the impression that things are similar.

We can have an in between that can merge the benefits from having professional objectives and also bring our very human and casual self into it, which allows us to build trust.

During our session I said, “You know, you mentioned the word trust. So tell me what the building blocks of trust are for you?.

He said, “Well, I think it might be empathy or might be sympathy.”

He went back to empathy, so I asked him, “What does empathy mean to you?”

And he said, “Well, it's giving it to get it. So by sharing vulnerability by sharing personal things that you're comfortable with, it allows other people to connect with you.”

BINGO!

When we get to show up as ourselves, it signals to the other person. “Well, I can show up as myself too.”

That’s the first piece. Being the example of what you want to see and experience.

Then there’s keeping your word. If you don't keep your word, if you say you're going to do something and you don't do it, then that immediately is a trust killer.

Also, reciprocation. If someone doesn't reciprocate trust, then that is a trust killer.

Where we go wrong is when we assume there is established trust without basis. When we assume that the person sitting across from us or having the conversation has the same expectation and perceived outcome, and has an understanding of what we're doing, but there's never a communication or a shared agreement. And then we're not balanced. That's where things go awry.

All relationships break down from unmet expectations. This is where we can get curious and clarifying and verifying, and also bringing ourselves into it can really help to build trust.

So we think about seeing people for who they are, and honoring that piece of them, and also being really clear about what it is we need from them. What is it that we're willing to give? What is it that we would like to get from them?

This way we can create these shared agreements, we can create shared expectations that helped to build trust. It can take a long time to build trust, and and it probably should, we have proximities of trust to us, the people who are closest to us - those have been tried and tested over years. You know, those people that you've known for 10 years plus, that you don't have to necessarily keep tabs with every day or every week or even every month, but you know that when you come back together, the trust is still the same Because you have that shared understanding, you have shared operating principles.

There are people that you feel connected to, but trust needs to be. It needs to be verified over time. That's where these check ins on the agreements happen. That's why we review contracts. If we're in business, we're not just signing a document and walking away from it, we're going back to check on. Okay, well, what does reciprocity look like? How do I get what I need? Is this person getting what they need? And that's okay. But if we want to deepen relationships with people, we have to put ourselves out there in order to signal to other people that it's okay for them to do the same.

So just because we're not having face to face, drinks with people, we're not necessarily having those those passing moments in the hallway or are those moments at a conference that you know in a buffet line to crack a joke, we are still able to connect with people. But the two key things are we have to be intentional and we have to be deliberate This is where setting the intention before every single engagement we have with the question of how do I use this opportunity to build trust? How do I need to show up? And what does success look like for me? How do I know when I deepen trust, you will know energetically when this starts to happen.

We want to feel trust on a gradual level, that deepening that stretching that growing. You will know it when you feel it. But know that over time, each step that you make towards this, the more sustainable and manageable it is. This time period is all about R&R, what is realistic and what is reasonable and being face to face being in person with people is not it's just not realistic right now. But we can still have conversations, we can still have different types of conversations that deepen our trust, we can still get to know people, we can acknowledge and validate them, we can see and hear them.

We can't lose the human level of this technology and communication shift. In fact, we need to leverage our human connection even more.

As you're navigating this, if you're working from home, or if you're in the job hunt, or you're just trying to get by, you can use this with your friends and family, you can use this with colleagues thinking about how can I connect with this person on a more human level? How do I share a little bit more of me? And how do I get curious with them to learn more and appreciate more about them?

We are all diverse, dynamic, multifaceted beings and it's our opportunity now to stop seeing things on the surface level and to start taking a deeper and more appreciative look at what is around us.

I hope that all of you are safe and well, if you have any questions if you need any more resources, I have set up a page with telework. Working for teams or individuals to navigate this uncertain unprecedent time, whatever you want to call it at the remote leader.com we just did something on routine reset, you can schedule a complimentary routine reset with me for 15 minutes. And if you have any questions, let me know if you're if you're struggling with anything, ask me the question. I'm happy to answer it on a future podcast and to all the Spitfires out there. Keep being awesome!

Episode 110: Routine Reset: Creating a New Workflow in Abnormal Times

Everything may look the same, but everything is different.

What may have worked for us before may actually be contributing to our stress and feelings of burnout.

In this episode Lauren will walk you through her Routine Reset process and worksheet (also available here: https://spitfireinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Routine-Reset-Worksheet-SpitFire-Institute-042020.pdf)

Schedule a Routine Reset Sesh here - https://laurenlemunyan.as.me/routinereset

Episode 109: Finding the Pockets of Opportunity in Uncertainty

To say that things feel different would be an understatement. To say that people feel unsettled would be the tip of the iceberg.

The past few weeks have built up to a crescendo of cancellations, fear, and uncertainty. 

So, what do we do when everything feels scary and unknown? 

Lauren shares the four questions you can ask yourself to get back to what matters and convert uncertainty into empowerment.

Full article: https://associationchat.com/2020/03/13/finding-pockets-of-opportunity/

Living Room Concerts: www.facebook.com/justintrawickmusic 

Episode 108: Favor Faux Pas

This week we're responding to a question from a listener:

"Pro Bono No-No"

"I’m hosting a workshop at work with a colleague who is a life and health coach as well. We are both volunteering our time for this. I asked a good friend of mine (also a colleague) to design the flyer. She did a great job. It is my hunch that my colleague wants to use the design for her own future gain, whether to advertise for other volunteer sessions she offers at the company or through her paid coaching services. 

She then asked my designer friend to share the source files and asked the designing colleague to coffee for future "collaborations."

This doesn't sit well with me and I feel like my designer friend will be taken advantage of. How do I educate someone in a kind way about pro bono design work and intellectual property boundaries?"

Episode 107: Unpacking The Business of Subscription Boxes with Julie Ball of Sparkle Hustle Grow

Lauren dives in with Julie Ball, the Founder and Chief Sparkler of Sparkle Hustle Grow, a monthly subscription box and online community for female entrepreneurs. Julie leads thousands of women through personal development and business training in a way that’s fun and supportive.

Julie is an author, speaker, community builder, subscription box coach-- featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Thrive Global, POPSUGAR, Hello Sunshine, and US Weekly.

SpitFire Podcast: www.spitfirepodcast.com

The SpitFire Coach: www.spitfirecoach.com

Transcript

Lauren LeMunyan:

I hope that you brought your sunglasses because we're going to be sparkling. We're going to be hustling, we're going to be growing. We are talking to Julie Ball, the Maven of Merchandising the Boss of Boxing, the Sultan of Subscriptions.

She is killing it in the subscription box world and beyond. Julie, thank you so much for joining me today. 

Julie Ball:

Yes. What an intro. Thank you so much. 

Lauren LeMunyan:

So, you are based in Asheville, North Carolina, right? You are in an amazing place and you take these amazing products. I'm not going to speak for you because I feel like you know your business model best. I want to dive into subscription boxes, sourcing, contract employees, marketing, branding, all the things in a small package.

Let's dig it is the subscription box model.  Tell me, how did you get into this?  

Julie Ball:

I had been running my own website design and development firm for about five or six years. And then we moved from the Charlotte area to Asheville. So I was in a new town and I didn't know a lot of people and all my work was being done behind the screen.

I was getting a little bit lonely, a little bit antsy and I was looking for that community. So I thought, why don't I start a community? There already are a lot of Facebook groups for female entrepreneurs and I was getting involved in those and having a really good time.

And I guess at that point too, I also thought about wanting a tangible product, like something of my own to hold and to create. I love getting happy mail. Doesn't everyone? I was subscribed to a few boxes at that point and I thought, well, what if I just put stuff into to serve my existing audience?

What would that look like? So I looked at my finances just to see what I was spending my money on. That's an eyeopener, by the way, you should try that. And I saw a lot of office supplies, a lot of personal development, like training courses, books, that type of thing. So I thought, okay, let's try to put those in a box, and see if it has legs.

And I was really just starting it as a side hustle. I was still doing the web agency. Fast forward nine months and I have replaced my full-time income and I stopped taking new clients. Eventually I phased out that side of the business and went all in on the subscription box business nine months.

Lauren LeMunyan:

That's incredible. So you've got those financial indicators of, I'm gonna be all right, but what was that moment where you were like, okay, this is that time to pivot and to change? 

Julie Ball:

That's a good question. I think it was, there wasn't like one specific moment, but there was a month or two where I could tell that I was getting in my way.

You need to get out of your own way to move forward, that means like hiring people, outsourcing things, finding your systems, that type of thing. That was about mid 2017 where I was not able to scale because I was holding myself back and what I landed on was it was because I was spending a lot of time still on my web agency work, even though my heart was pulling me towards the subscription box business. I had contracts to fulfill and obligations with those plus I didn't want to let my clients down. 

So, I told them what was going on and I gave them a date. I said, this is when your contract will end and we won't be renewing, but I'll help you find a replacement for me. So that made me feel better and made them feel better, and it allowed me to make that pivot and go all in on the box business.

Lauren LeMunyan:

That's awesome. I hear from people all the time, they're like, I want to grow, but I don't trust people coming on. I don't know how to let go. So how were you able to delegate and to trust people, to bring people into your world so that you could scale? 

Julie Ball:

Yeah. There's a couple of answers I have for that one.

It is a leap of faith. I mean, there's just, there's some amount of uncertainty in it. When you hire someone or when you get a, for us, it was like getting a warehouse to fulfill for us. We also were at a point in our house, we were renting a house, I think it was about 1200 square feet, and we were physically running out of space and the postman's like how much stuff can come in and out of this house?

At some point it's got to stop. We took care of our, our postal workers always, you know, treating them to cookies and gift cards and stuff to make them feel appreciated. But it got to the point where I couldn't physically lift all these boxes anymore because they were so heavy with books.

That’s when I realized I needed to hire out and put it in a warehouse. The people that pack and ship the boxes, that's definitely a scary thing handing over cause that's like you're handing over your baby to daycare for the first time.

I am type A, so I had done time studies. I had laid out like this is exactly how the boxes get packed and this is how our postage works. We were able to find a warehouse locally here in Asheville.

We are at a point now where we're switching over to a new warehouse this year because we're taking the next level, taking it to the next level in our business. So, another scary moment where we're handing our baby over to someone new, but that's part of it. 

Lauren LeMunyan:

As you're moving up and you transition out of doing contract client work, how many subscribers, how many boxes were you sending out each month? 

Julie Ball:

Oh, that's a good question. I think when I started having the conversation with my clients, I was probably around the 500 mark.

I must've been somewhere around the 800 mark by the time I was closing down shop. The thing with subscription boxes is when you, the more you buy as far as your products and your custom boxes, the more you save. You know, it's like a typical economies of scale type thing. As I would grow my business, I'd get better pricing on things, so it was able to improve that profit margin.

It's definitely not a get rich quick scheme by any means. It's one of those like slow and steady wins the race. It's just I was sprinting at that time.  I had to get control of the growth so that it wasn't overwhelming me. 

Lauren LeMunyan:

How many boxes are you at that point? 

Julie Ball:

Well, we started using the fulfillment center right around that. I think it was right around 400 to 500 Mark, if I remember correctly, cause that's when we were busting out the seams. We were finding crinkle cut everywhere in the house, even in the laundry.

It got to a point where It was like do-or-die, you're going to have to get this out of the house. 

Lauren LeMunyan:

So just people like a visual representation, each subscription box. What's the dimension on that? 

Julie Ball:

It's a  6 x 9 x 3 box. So think of like if you buy a new pair of flat shoes, like flats.

That's about the size of it. It’s just enough to fill with a book and then four to six items like stationary, tech gadgets, that type of thing. It's pretty small box, but we also sprinkle crinkle got on top and it gets messy and it's sparkly and fun. 

Lauren LeMunyan:

And then multiply it by 500 in your house. I'm looking at my closet right now, and I have one of those over the door hangers for my shoes.  probably 40 pairs of shoes there. I think it's a lot. Multiply that by 10 and then the width and everything else, and you start to really see the magnitude of this, and this is just that the inception of.

So where are you now as you're evolving into the second warehouse? 

Julie Ball:

Depending on time of the year, because we've got some seasonal slumps that's just typical for the subscription box industry, anywhere from a 1,000 to 1300 subscribers. And let me tell you why we're not looking to be the next Fab Fit Fun.

We intentionally cap it at that kind of, that kind of, um, quantity, that volume level, because we want to create an environment that's still intimate enough that you get to know the people. Um, part of the subscription is. There's an online community and so many people say they join for the stuff, but they stay for the community.

And in that community, we have guest experts, we do masterclasses, we cheer each other on, support each other, and it's this wonderful place to be. But. We felt the larger that it got, the less intimate and impactful it felt. We intentionally stay around those numbers. Now I do coach other people how to launch and scale their own subscription boxes, businesses, and many of them have volumes way beyond what I sell. It really depending on what the experience, like the full customer experience you're trying to create.

Lauren LeMunyan:

I'm so glad you mentioned that because if you don't have a clear idea of what success looks like for you, then things get out of control really fast. So, you have found this sweet spot of, capping it at this point because beyond that, you start to lose potency or that intimacy and connection.

That’s a huge takeaway. 

Julie Ball:

Yeah, I agree. And it's funny because when I talk to vendors and a lot of times, they'll so you're just say you're at 1200 subscribers right now. Where do you see yourself in a year? And I'm like, about 1200. But don't mistake that for lack of ambition, that's just focus. That's what we know that where we're good at. 

So, the reason why we're switching warehouses is to improve our systems. We love our existing warehouse. It was a mom and pop local warehouse. We got to know them, like family, which was awesome. Now we're taking it to the next level where we're going to have the software in place to take some other things off of my plate. 

It's kind of moving into more of that CEO role and less of the foot soldier role, at the same time, it’s scary. 

Lauren LeMunyan:

If you can see yourself in different phases of leadership throughout your business, how would you describe yourself as a leader back in the day? 

Julie Ball:

I questioned myself a lot more. I knew what I wanted, and I made decisions very quickly. I just didn't have a mentor in my specific industry that had already paved the way, or said, “When you get to that, this is what you do.”

A lot of my leadership style was through trial and error. To be honest with you, I'm now three and a half years in. That's really shifted because now I have a team and I have people that are really good at what they do.

For example, I have an operations person named Amy, and she knows more about operations than I do, but I know more about logistics from a fulfillment side. So, we ask each other, we still, you know, ask and listen, I, some of this is still trial and error, but now it's like the collective wisdom of experts that we bring it together.

I think that's what makes it different, as far as teams too. One of the most important things that I've done for my team is to learn their love languages. Everyone has a bucket. What can you do to fill their bucket?

And so different people on my team have different love languages. Luckily travel is all of our love languages is at least one of our top ones and so that works out really good for us because we like to travel as a team. We're spread all across the U S but I think that's what's, that's what's really helped me be a leader as to learn those love languages.

Lauren LeMunyan:

What is your leadership love language? 

Julie Ball:

Ooh. Probably validation. I like to hit goals and when I get that hat tip that, you know, people said, “Hey, good job” or “I like when you did this or that really helped me when you said this.” Getting that kind of validation or that acknowledgement is really important to me.

Lauren LeMunyan:

It's good to know that because if you're not clear on it, then you don't know how to communicate it. And then you're like, I'm not getting what I need. My bucket's empty when else is full. 

One of the things that I love about you and Sparkle Hustle Grow is connection to paying it forward. You give other vendors, other professionals, entrepreneurs, different people opportunities. My book, it was my first book ever written and when I was in your subscription box, it was a game changer for me. I was magically in the hands of people I never would have reached.

I want to take this opportunity to really thank you for that. 

Julie Ball:

I just got chills. Thank you. I appreciate you saying that big and we've got to, we've got to share it. 

Lauren LeMunyan:

But I mean it was huge. And I see all, I'm still involved in the community and I see all of these people who are putting themselves out there and people are like, yes, please, I need more of that and they're able to then share their own experience. 

Julie Ball:

So more often than not. If you have a question, you're going to find someone in that group that has an answer or at least can direct you to a resource.

Lauren LeMunyan:

I've noticed that, uh, the subscription box, uh, model has become a family affair.

Julie Ball:

It has. Yes, it has. My husband has gotten involved in the game. I'm a coach and because I was getting asked a lot about the industry and can I pick your brain? I became a coach to teach other people how to do it. Once we learned the business model, we're like well, we can just duplicate the business model with a different idea.

My husband and daughter, she's eight and a half, they started a box called Together Unplugged and it is a box for families with young children to unplug and play together. He is a former middle school teacher and he was seeing some trends in the classroom that really pointed out some problems with screen time and not getting quality time with parents and the people that in your family. 

He creates a box of puzzles, games, team building activities, conversation starters because a lot of times we don't even know how to talk to our kids at the table anymore. He started that about a year ago and our daughter is the Chief Game Tester.

Lauren LeMunyan:

That's awesome. Did I see something about camping too? 

Julie Ball:

Yeah, it's been really fun to see my family joining on this, but also my friends. One of my good friends, Brandy, she launched recently a box called the Happy Glamper, and it's for the glamping enthusiasts. 

Lauren LeMunyan:

That's awesome. You are spreading the box seeds all around you, everywhere you go. 

If you could like ballpark it, how many subscription boxes do you think you've inspired or been a part of?

Julie Ball:

That's a great question. So in, um, subscription box bootcamp, my group coaching program, we have over 200 students.

I think that there's a couple of hundred boxes out there that have either learned from me or been inspired by me. We recently launched a podcast too called Subscription Box Basics, which will evolve. So, if you have any listeners that are thinking about maybe they have this subscription box business idea and they don't know where to start, that would be a great place to send them.

Lauren LeMunyan:

Awesome. I attempted to start a subscription box, and I was like, this is like way beyond my skillset. Sourcing is not for me. I'm an ideas person and I will happily hand it off. 

Yeah. I'm really good at being the emotional support CEO, where it's safe space to soundboard, but ultimately I don't want to be in charge of the decision.

Which is an interesting place when you're running your own business. 

Julie Ball:

Yes. I'm glad you brought that up because that's what I really lean on my team for that. So the two core team members, one is my yes girl and one is my like, Oh, let's think about this girl and it's awesome. Yeah. It's such a great combination, the three of us working together. 

But one of my problems in my leadership is that I get decision paralysis where I have to make so many decisions on so many different levels of my business and at some point, sometimes I'm just like make the decision and I trust you. It's really helpful to have team members that you can trust when you get to those points of decision paralysis.

Lauren LeMunyan:

So along with the leadership pain points, what do you see as industry pain points? 

What do you see coming up that that has your attention?

Julie Ball:

As far as being the box owner, as, as you know, in information is scattered. If you tried to launch something, information is scattered and the execution is difficult unless you have a roadmap or something to guide you. So that's or the boxer. 

I think from the industry perspective, it's just the fact that the industry is growing. There's no doubt about that. I don't believe it's necessarily even a trend anymore. I look at it as an industry that stands on its own.

But part of the problem with the industry is that people are not always putting out a new product that's unique. so I talk a lot about that with my boot campers where, and you've probably talked about this before, and all business owners need to know this, is to niche down, know exactly who you serve and how exactly you solve their pain points.

I always give a quick example of something like, there's a lot of boxes out there that sell tea, like coffee or tea, things like that. But if you say it's a tea box for new moms, then that new mom will be like, Oh, that box was made just for me, and it's going to have very specific product in there.

Probably one that's got like lots of caffeine, probably one that is like a stress relief tea. You know what I mean? So I think I would like to encourage people to be unique and niche down, niche down, and niche down again, because otherwise you get lost in the sea of same. 

Lauren LeMunyan:

his reminds me of The Experience Economy.

I listened to a HBR webinar on it and it essentially takes things from commodity to goods to services to experiences and now to the transformation.

I think people got locked into services and even experiences, but what you're talking about with this ultra-niche down is the transformation that your users, your customers are going to experience in receiving this and being part of the community.

How are they going to be different after coming in contact with your product? 

Julie Ball:

Not only that is when the transformation of receiving the product, but in marketing, lead with the transformation. Tell them what's going to happen through that product or that service. I love that. It's all, it is about the transformation.

Lauren LeMunyan:

Yeah, and that's a differentiator. Like anyone can do a subscription box, but what are you allowing? What are you catalyzing in someone's life? How are they going to be different after, after being with you?

Julie Ball: 

Yeah. It’s important to not just make decisions with data. Me and my colleagues make a lot of choices based off of heart too. Like what is truly my mission and my vision for the business and what is best for my customers? Where does my heart take me?

I think as women, a lot of times we struggle with that. They are not independent. They work together. 

Lauren LeMunyan:

So, if you had to plant a seed for future success for you, for Sparkle Hustle Grow for the subscription box world, what would it be?

Julie Ball: 

Well, for the world, for the subscription box world is that whole concept of niching down and being unique. I really come from an abundance mindset. I believe that there is more than enough to go around. I see people that launch a box similar to mine on the regular, and you know what? I'm cheering them on because they are hopefully going to be unique and what they do is going to be different than what I do.

The way I position it, the way I deliver it, the way people get to interact personally with me in the Facebook group and personally with our guest experts, I think it just as long as you're unique, you've got a place in this world. 

I've seen it happen time and time again where people are doing the copy and paste thing and it’s not unique.

Be yourself, show up. I think that's where it comes down to.

Lauren LeMunyan:

That's a great takeaway for anyone, whether you're making a subscription box or you're an entrepreneur or you're just out in the world. Don't try to be someone else. You ain't going to be Oprah.

Julie Ball: 

And it takes mindset work to get through that and I've done a lot of that work already, and that's something that we include a lot of mindset work in the box. Throughout the years we've had topics that have covered that over and over again. It's natural to compare yourself, but you just gotta work on your mindset and be, you.

Lauren LeMunyan:

Awesome. Well thank you so much for joining me and sharing your wisdom backstep in a nice little cute package on our podcast and I can't wait to see what Sparkle Hustle Grow does!

Keep spitting that fire!

Episode 106: No Buts About It

But

However

Even though

Although

How many times do you say or type these words a day? What are you trying to communicate v. what's actually being received.

In today's podcast we're talking about Buts and the impact it's having on your communication and relationships.

Download The But Tracker to see how many times you're saying it.

Episode 105: What's the Difference Between Balance, Integration and Alignment

I remember a decade ago or even five years ago, everyone was all about work-life balance. Then balance became replaced with a new focus on integration and now I’m hearing about alignment.

It made me wonder, what are all these buzzwords trying to get at?

What are we really striving for in and out of the workplace?

After working with over 200 professionals in energy, tech, startups, design and nonprofits, I’ve observed the dots connecting.

www.spitfireinstitute.com

Here's a link to the worksheet: https://spitfirecoach.com/s/Values-Worksheet.pdf

Episode 104: The True Cost of Conflict Avoidance

How to Stop Avoiding Challenging Conversations and Start Saving Time, Money, and Your Sanity

According to employee-resource startup Bravely, 70% of employees are avoiding difficult conversations in the office. Those circumvented communications with their boss, colleagues, and direct reports may provide temporary relief, but it’s having a huge impact on the emotional and financial health of the workplace. 

Read the full blog here: https://wp.me/pbfa13-HU

Episode 103: Achievement Planning - Four Steps to Success

Have you ever said any of these things to yourself?

 

"I'm lazy."

"I always get distracted."

"Something always comes up and gets in my way."

 

 

Here's the truth...

You are not lazy, but you may be lacking clarity and passion.

You are not distracted, but things will always come up and distract you (56 times a day to be exact) and what you think is a goal may not that important to you.

You have been and can be successful, but you may be afraid of what's on the other side of the story you're telling yourself.

 

Lauren breaks down the four steps to achieve your goals and knock out excuses and distractions.

 

Watch the  video here: https://youtu.be/_MwijQDe_H8

 

Read the full blog here: https://spitfireinstitute.com/2020/02/10/achievement-planning/

Episode 102: Addressing Your Labels

Where are labels showing up in the way you think about the people around you? How about how you think about yourself?

Lauren uncovers the hidden dangers of labels especially the ones that you may think are compliments.

Episode 101: The Energy Scorecard

Ever feel like you're saying yes to things that you wish you didn't? 

What if you had a tool to help you process decisions in a clear and objective way?

Introducing The Energy Scorecard, a five-step process to help you see the impacts of your potential activities.

Spitting Fire: Your Guide to Reignite and Maintain Your Passion at Home, Work and Beyond

Episode 100: Pay Attention to Your Corners

How a trip to the salon triggered a huge life lesson.

Yesterday I decided to cut my hair for the first time. I had been resisting for a while but couldn’t endure the crunchy crinkles of my split ends. So, I made an appointment at a hair salon chain that I had gone to several times before for a trim and blow dry.

I was ready for my day of self-care.

Now this isn’t about soaking up the pampering and relishing in my new fresh do — that would be far too simple and trite.

The universe had far more in store for me.

You see, before all of this, I asked for a grand gesture for my 100th podcast episode. I didn’t want to do a fluff piece or an interview — I wanted a deep topic. I had ideas pop up, but nothing stuck, until I saw it unfolding and blowing up in my own face.

As a coach, I hear things that people hold back from everyone else in their life. They trust me with the most sensitive of topics and lean on me to help them through the process. I love my job. I am honored to do my job. But I was fooling myself.

I had convinced myself that I wasn’t affected by the heavy topics. I was meditating and working out and eating well. I thought that was enough. And then I walked into the salon.

After a thorough explanation of the services and procedures, I melted into the wash bowl where I was treated to a majestic head massage. I was like puddy in her hands.

I floated back to the chair as the shedding of inches began.

As the hair dryer began, I glanced down at the sea of hair from me and other clients. An employee dressed in all black and a hair product apron began sweeping items from the middle into a sucking contraption. Then my eye began to scan the floor and it picked up on pockets of fair individual hairs.

And then the corners…

Layers of follicles from the past, dust bunnies and debris. I was horrified at first and then the light bulb went off.

This was my brain and my body. I had been focusing on the noticeable things — my image, my diet, my stamina — and was forgetting the things in the corners — the residual emotional baggage from every client, interaction and idea. I was only sweeping at the big stuff.

Today I went in for my monthly acupuncture appointment and was beyond distraught. I felt like I had been running an emotional gauntlet and had exploded at people closest to me.

We chatted about how I could clean out my corners. Sure she could give me a treatment, but I needed a plan to process and protect my corners. So we created a ritual of protection, selection and rejection. I had the choice to engage, absorb and conclude.

My logical brain had convinced me that I was already doing this, but my inner voice knew I had been skimming the surface.

When we create and maintain a ritual or routine, it becomes natural and expected when it is consistent and clear. My ritual is about deciding how much I want to take on and in and what process I want to do to change the course of an unexpected or less than ideal situation. Essentially how do I knowingly turn on and off the coach.

Coaching is what I do, but it doesn’t have to always be who I am. I am also a reality-tv binge watching, karaoke singing, sequin-wearing, terrible dad joke telling human being.

We are all human beings doing the best we can with what we have. When we can acknowledge the things we want to hide and embrace them as our truth, we can diminish the shame and blame around the topic.

All of that energy we used to stuff things away, all of that energy spent keeping an eye on it, all of that energy scanning for signs that someone else knows, what more could we do with all of that found energy?

One week later…

I gave myself a week after writing this piece to post to test out my ritual/routine. I decided to make my routine as easy as possible. (I recently read a Harvard Business Review article on small micro goals and it really works.)

Every morning I write in my journal for 2–5 minutes reflecting on my previous day, what I’m grateful for and what my intention for the day is. I then sit in quiet reflection and meditation for 5 minutes. Then I have my coffee and get to cranking. In between coaching sessions, I’ve also started washing my hands.

Why?

It’s flu season and even if I don’t see people for their interactions, it’s a good practice to be in and there’s something about water. It cleanses and washes away the residual emotions that weren’t mine to begin with.

I’m already starting to feel the changes. I am less reactive, more present, more creative, and sillier. I recently went to a dinner that in the past has triggered anxiety, frustration and resentment. This time I enjoyed myself the entire time (2.5 hours!).

Next Steps

As you go about your day, what are 2–3 things you can do every day even in the busiest of times?

What can you do to honor yourself?

What can you do to take care of yourself?

If this is proving to be a challenge, what would your best friend suggest?

Track your progress (did you do it today?) and track your energy level(from 1–10).

Over time you’ll be able to see the truth and proof of your routine so much so that it becomes a ritual.

Episode 99: Using The Scaling Tool to Find the Gaps

Do you have new or shy employees who respond with "Good", "Fine" and "Ok" when you ask them how things are going?

Learn how the scaling tool can give you insight on confidence, blind spots, and opportunities within your organization.

Episode 98: What Are You Willing to Let Go Of?

Episode 97: Listen to This Before Making Your New Years Resolution

Do your New Years Resolutions sound amazing and achievable in January, but become a distant memory or feel like a chore in March?

Today's episode will support you in making reasonable and realistic goals that will help you shift your mindset and behavior.

Episode 96: SpitFire Spotlight - Brett Snyder, Founder & CEO, Knucklepuck Media

Brett Snyder is the founder and CEO of Knucklepuck. Snyder built Knucklepuck with a holistic digital philosophy, assembling a team of experts in SEO, Paid Media, Content Marketing and Web Development that is uniquely positioned to adapt to clients’ evolving business needs.

Brett has deliberately executed a growth plan for Knucklepuck that is aligned with client success; Knucklepuck will always be held accountable to client business objectives, tying the company’s success with client successes. Following this simple model, Knucklepuck has grown from a one-man operation to a 15-person outfit and earned the distinction as Arlington’s Fastest Growing Company in 2017.

www.knucklepuckmedia.com